Hidden in Study
by Cherry Chibi
Summary: At the age of 6, Kaoru Kamiya made a deal with her parents that if she could trick them once that she was a boy, they would have to let her go to school. That was the beginning of Kaoru's adventure to a boys boarding school.... KaoruBattousaiShinta
1. Chapter One

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or any of its creations.

A/N: It's not often that I think of a good plot for a 'feel good' kinda story so to make the most out of this plot, I'll be starting when Kaoru is let's say…. Six years old. Her parents are still alive too. Lol. This is going to be entertaining to write. BTW, this fic will not be based on modern time. 

Hidden in Study – Chapter One – By Cherry Chibi

It was a bright and sunny day and in the countryside, lived a small family. The Kamiya family were rice farmers and sold their crops every harvest season. Meanwhile, the family were having an afternoon break inside the small cottage. 

 "Mummy, Daddy, can I go to school?" Little six years old Kaoru asked her parents while placing a plate of cut fruit on the table. She flinched when her father scolded her. 

 "No Kaoru, you cannot go to school. School is for boys only, you can only learn to read and that's all." Her father's angry voice made her feel intimidated.

 "But Daddy! I want to learn more…" 

 "No sweetheart." Her mother coaxed her, "You must understand that there aren't any schools for girls. They're all boy schools and they won't let you come home until you've finished."  Her mother gave her a small smile. 

 "But-,"

 "No buts Kaoru!" Her father scolded her. 

Kaoru frowned and took her seat. She wanted to go to school badly. It was where she could learn more about the world and many other things that satisfy her taste for entertainment. "Then will you promise me something mummy?" 

 "What is it sweetheart?" Her mother asked her gently while stroking her daughter's hair. 

 "And daddy, will you promise me too?" Kaoru asked her father with pleading eyes. 

After a moment of hesitation, her father replied. "Alright." 

Kaoru smiled innocently. "Alright, promise me that if I trick the both of you that I was a boy, you'll have to let me go to school!" She eyed her parents with a mischievous glint in her eyes. 

Her mother glanced back at her father. There was a moment of silent communication between the two parents. Kaoru's father gave a chuckle to lighten the mood and then said, "Alright. Fine." 

 "Don't break your promise!" Kaoru leapt of her chair, gave her mother a kiss on the cheek, and her father a hug before running off. 

 "She is too naughty sometimes." Her mother said briefly afterwards. 

* * * *

Little Kaoru dug through a large chest in the attic and searched for boy's clothes. "I know I can trick them…" She said, "All I need is some decent clothes." Then she held out a boy's robe that looked like it was from China. A smile stretched her lips when she realised that it would fit her. 

She dug into the chest some more and during that time she had become so enthusiastic that she fell inside the chest with an, "Umph." She searched through and found a pair of shoes. She compared the shoe against her foot and smiled. "Great! These match that funny dress." She climbed out of the chest and gathered the items before bouncing into her bedroom. 

Kaoru folded and hid the clothing inside her closet she looked in the mirror. "Uh oh…" She noticed her black hair that fell over her shoulders. "My hair… it's too long…" She gulped and cringed at the thought of cutting her hair. "No, no, no, think good." She imagined herself with short hair and laughed. "Alright! I can do it!" 

With soft thumps, she rushed out of the room towards the kitchen. When she reached there, she searched through the cupboards until she found a small sharp knife. 'I guess this will have to do.' She rushed back to her bedroom and shut the door closed. "Mummy says that I should always be careful with a knife." Kaoru said under her breath. 

She knelt in front of the mirror and took in so steady breaths. "Oh please…" She held out a lock of her hair and prepared to cut it when suddenly…

 "What are you doing Kao?!" Another girl aged six entered the room with a loud bang. She was the servant girl who the Kamiya family accepted. Her blue-green eyes were wild. She had grown to love Kaoru as a sister. 

 "I'm gonna dress up as a boy." Kaoru replied. She let out a sigh to relax. She thought that she had shaved her head when Misao entered like that. 

 "Why? Don't tell me that you're gonna run away to go to school!" Misao eyes widened at the thought of her best friend running away. She hugged Kaoru and started crying. "You better not run away!!!" 

 "Calm down Misao, I made a deal with mummy and daddy." Kaoru said holding the knife away from the two. 

 "Oh, what deal?" Misao sat back. 

 "That if I can trick them that I'm a boy then I get to go to school." Kaoru said. "It's like playing dress up!" 

 "Oh, then I can help! I'll help you cut your hair!" Misao grabbed the knife. 

 "But Misao!" 

Later…

Kaoru looked at the mirror with wide eyes. Her hair was short that was for sure but it had the scruffy look. 

Misao sat back and smiled. She wrapped the knife in a cloth and placed it aside. "You look cute!" 

 "You're right! Misao! Thanks!" Kaoru ruffled her hair to make it even scruffier. "I must say, I think I like having short hair…" Kaoru smiled at Misao and then the two girls laughed. 

 "Let's finish dressing up!" Misao stood up while laughing. 

 "Yeah!" Kaoru rushed to her closet and took out the Chinese robe. "This is gonna be great!" She quickly changed and looked at herself in the mirror, "I look like a boy." She said with a satisfied grin. 

 "Uh oh," Misao scurried out of the room and came back with a pair of small rounded sunglasses. "You better put these on." 

 "Why?" 

 "'Cos how many people do you know besides your family and me have blue eyes?" Misao said.

 "Oh," Kaoru put them on and looked at herself in the mirror. After a moment of silence the two girls laugh. 

 "Wanna play mud wrestling?" Misao asked. 

Kaoru looked at Misao's wistful look. When Misao winked Kaoru got the idea. 

* * * *

Kaoru's parents were working on the crops when suddenly they heard Misao scream. Alarmed, Mr. Kamiya picked up his bokken and followed the sounds. Mrs. Kamiya was also following close by. When they arrived at the scene, the found Misao wrestling a boy to the muddy ground. 

 "Got you!" Misao growled. "Mr. Kamiya is gonna beat you up for hurting Kaoru!" 

 "Hurting Kaoru?" Mr. Kamiya felt the urge of spanking that boy.

The boy shouted, "It was her fault!"

 "What? She was playing dolls with me?!" Misao shouted. 

 "Alright kids, what's going on?!" Mr. Kamiya walked in with a stern face. 

 "Get this girl offa me!" The boy shouted. "I'm a son of a rich Chinese family! Get offa me!" 

 "Alright boy," Mr. Kamiya grabbed the boy by the collar. "You think that you are a smart mouth then…" 

 "Darling, you better not harm the boy." Mrs. Kamiya said. 

 "What's your name boy?" Mr. Kamiya questioned angrily. 

 "Hi daddy!" Kaoru took off her sunglasses and smiled. "Hi mummy!

Misao started laughing and she tumbled over. Her kimono was covered with mud. Kaoru's parents looked as if they had been spanked by their parents. 

 "Kaoru?" Her mother looked worriedly at her father. 

 "You have to keep your promises." Kaoru said. "I would like to go to school soon." She scrambled out of her father's reach and hugged Misao. "We tricked them!!!!" 

* * * *

A/N: Yes… this is going to be one entertaining story. Please drop a review on what you think. ^.^

~Cherry Chibi


	2. Chapter Two

**Disclaimer:** I no own Rurouni Kenshin…

A/N: I've made the final decision of making this fic a Kaoru & Battousai/Kenshin fic. Because of Kenshin's age, he'll be Kenshin for now and slowly become Battousai. ^.-

Hidden in Study - Chapter 2 – By Cherry Chibi

Two days later, Kaoru and Misao were preparing for departure to Kyoto. They have received word of the school that would accept them as boarders. However, Misao was organised to help out at the school and do part-time learning – because she didn't want to study all the time. 

 "Why did I have to cut my hair?!!!!" Misao's now short hair was neatly cut (imagine Captain Sagara's hair but only with shorter hair) "I look weird." 

 "You look cute." Kaoru whispered. 

The two girls stood beside a carriage dressed in boy clothing. They helped Kaoru's parents load their luggage on the carriage. Kaoru noticed that her mother had been weeping. She had heard her parents argue and felt slightly guilty but she was going to do what she dreamed of doing – attending school.

 "Don't worry mummy, I'll write." Kaoru said with a smile, "I promise." 

 "Take care of yourself." Her mother hugged her tightly and so did her father. Misao was soon caught in a tight bear hug as well. The driver opened the carriage door and helped the two 'boys' in. 

 "Remember Kaoru, you name there will be Taka and Misao, your name will be Akai." Kaoru's mother whispered to them. They nodded and looked at their hands. In black ink, they had written their 'boy' names written on the palm of their hands. 

 "You will take them to the city?" Mr. Kamiya asked the driver. 

 "I will." The driver replied honestly. 

* * * *

Kaoru and Misao waved goodbye as the carriage departed. When the small cottage and the farm were no longer in sight, the two settled into the seats. "Do you think that we'll be OK?" 

Kaoru turned to Misao and nodded. "We will be. I'm sure that as long as we have each other, we'll be alright." She smiled. "Well, we better memorise our names." The two sat back and stared at their hands. 

Misao glanced and Kaoru's hand and Kaoru glanced at Misao's hand. Then both of them said,

 "Wanna switch names?" 

* * * *

When the two arrived at the Taiyou no Kokoro school, it was night. They were welcomed by a group of boys as well as teachers. Misao and Kaoru glanced sideways to each other. 

 "Welcome Taka and Akai Kamiya. I see that you two are very promising boys." An old man with a white moustache and small beard walked up to them. "I am Okina Kashiwazaki, the principal of this school." 

 'Scary…' Misao thought. 

Kaoru was biting her tongue to keep in her laughter. 'His moustache moves funny when he talks…' 

 "Now, because Taiyou no Kokoro school is so popular, we don't have a room for the both of you to share. No matter, I've organised for you to stay with two other boys who will surely help your stay." Okina said. 

 "Uh oh…" Misao and Kaoru breathed. 

 "Now, I hear that Akai is not going to be studying but helping the teachers in classes." Okina continued. 

 "No, I'm Taka, Akai is studying here." Misao spoke up in the most boyish voice she could muster. 

 "Oh, must have gotten your names muddled up. Alright, I won't hold you two up any further; let's get you to your rooms." Okina said. "Mr. Seijuro will take you to your room Akai." He said to Kaoru. 

She nodded and then turned her attention to the very tall man wearing a white cloak. "Hello Mr. Seijuro." 

Hiko smiled grimly at her before lifting her heaviest bags and leading her towards the building. Kaoru picked up her smaller bag and gave a glance to Misao. "I'll see you later, mi- I mean, Taka." 

Misao nodded. 

 "Hurry up Akai." Hiko said. 

Kaoru scurried after Hiko. He led her through the large halls and then he entered a room that was very small with only two futons, blankets and headrests folded up at the left side. At the opposite wall was a desk with two chairs. There was one built in closet and a window. The room was lit by a candle on the desk. 

 "The bathhouse is at the back, however, for juniors, you would only be able to use them from after lunch until dinner. Senior students use the bathhouse during the mornings and night." Hiko said as he placed her bags beside the bed closest to the window. "Your curfew is at eight." 

Kaoru nodded and looked into the room. "Thank you Mr. Seijuro." 

 "If you need help, the baka-deshi in this room name is Kenshin." Then Hiko left. 

Kaoru opened the closet and found that the shelves on the whole left side of the closet were empty. She unpacked her clothing, folded them and placed them on the shelves. Her bags she packed at the bottom of the closet. When she was done she stretched. 

She soon realised a problem. There wasn't a secluded place in this room where she could change without her roommate seeing. 'Better change now,' she quickly took of her shirt and wore another on, it fitted her comfortably. Her mother had been busy sewing clothes for her and Misao. She changed her pants. 

Just when she finished, the shouji door slid open and a boy entered. He had flaming red hair, lavender eyes and was wearing black pants and a white shirt. It looks at if he had been training for something earlier on. 

 "You must be my roommate now." Kenshin said in his quiet voice. 

 "Yeah, my name is Akai Kamiya." Kaoru said. 

Kenshin didn't say much after that. He walked over to the desk and piled up text books. Kaoru packed her clothes and slid the closet door shut. She rushed to her feet and walked over to the desk. 

 "Are these…"

 "These are text books that we would be studying from for the rest of this year." Kenshin said. "For maths and literature." He then walked over to the closet and slid the right side open. 

Kaoru quickly turned her attention to the books and opened a book. 'I'm supposed to be a boy, I am not a girl now… well… I am but I'm pretending that I'm not…' She tried to distract herself from blushing by reading the literature text. Then she heard Kenshin's voice rasp out in pain. 

She turned around and almost gasped but she avoided that. 'Don't become girlish now…' She walked over to Kenshin. He's back was bruised badly and there was a minor cut near his shoulder. "What happened?" 

 "Nothing." Kenshin replied sharply. 

 "Really?" Kaoru crossed her arms, "I bet that you have been sword training or did you get into a bash up with some guys?" 

Kenshin didn't reply. 

 "I've got a first aid kit, you can use it." Kaoru took out a wooden box and in it were ointments and bandages that her mother had packed for her. "It's important to treat wounds early." 

 "Thanks… You want to become a doctor?" Kenshin questioned. 

 "Nope." Kaoru replied. She smiled and then shoved the box into his hands. "I don't want the floor covered in your blood tomorrow morning." She then started unfolding the futons. 

Kenshin was eyeing her strangely. 

She looked up at him and said, "What?" Then she realised that he was guy and thought that she was being weird because she was doing a job like a 'girl'. "It's a habit; my parents made me do a lot of things back at the countryside." Then she tried to laugh it off. 

 "You are… eccentric." Kenshin walked over to the futon furthest from the window and placed the box on the floor. "Where do you come from?" 

 "The countryside, like I said, although I'm not so sure where, I think its east from here." Kaoru said, then she set up her futon, she pulled out the blanket and placed the headrest into her desired position. 

 "I've lived here most of my life," Kenshin said quietly, "I never knew who my parents were, they died when I was very young." He then opened the box and took out a roll of bandages and a bottle of ointment. 

 'I wonder how Kenshin got hurt so badly…' Kaoru thought, 'by looking, I think that some of them are old cuts. Is someone beating him up?' She thought some more until, 'I'll follow him around tomorrow night and find out.' 

 "Um, could you give me a hand here?" Kenshin asked quietly, "I can't see where to apply the bandages," He was looking over his shoulder.

Kaoru held in a laugh, she walked over to him and then quickly wrapped the bandages. "No one has ever taught you right?"

Kenshin kept silent. 

Kaoru sat back and crossed her legs. "Alright, so far, all I know about you is that you're name is Kenshin, you're quiet or shy, you're strong by seeing that you endure wounds  well and that you are smart for your age 'cos you use big words." Kaoru smiled. She had purposely skipped saying 'you've been here most of your life', she thought that he probably didn't want to think about it.

There was silence for a while until Kaoru chuckled. "I think that you don't want to talk anymore so good night." She crawled under the blankets of the futon, before she shut her eyes to sleep she asked, "What time do we have to wake up?" 

 "Just before the sun rises," Kenshin said. He had expected Akai to start complaining about it would be far too early to wake up and that they should sleep in, most of the boys do.

 "Easy." Kaoru yawned, "OK, night." 

Meanwhile… 

 "Will you please shut up?!" A six year old boy with spiked brown hair glared at Misao but then regretted his words straight away. 

 "Don't talk to me like that!!!" Misao punched Sano in the face and then again in the stomach. "You should know that you should always be nice to new kids." She crossed her arms. "Well, what are we gonna do about your personal stash of food?" 

 "Nothing!" Sanosuke ducked under the covers and covered his head with the blanket. Misao glared at him and then decided that she should get to bed. She blew out the candle on the desk and slipped into her futon. 

* * * *

A/N: There's the next chapter. Hope you all enjoyed it. ^-^x Next chapter will be better, the actual schooling starts. Hehehe…

Ja!

Nee-chan: Yeah, you've got it! That was the inspiration for this fic but I'm not gonna use it all. I just took little bits and pieces. By knowing the basic storyline of that tale, it won't spoil what's gonna happen later on. So no worries there! 

~ Cherry Chibi


	3. Chapter Three

**Disclaimer:** I no own Rurouni Kenshin…

Hidden in Study - Chapter 3 – By Cherry Chibi

Early next morning, everyone was in the main hall with a bowl of rice porridge with pieces of salted fish. Kaoru and Misao were sitting as far away as possible from the others. 

 "You think we can switch rooms?" Misao asked pleadingly. 

 "Why?" Kaoru asked. 

 "'Cos the Rooster-head is giving me a headache…" Misao whined, "He leaves his stuff everywhere!" She swallowed a mouthful of the porridge. She had woken up with a shock when Okina had entered the room with a stick and smacked them both to wake up; he went easy on her because she didn't know. 

 "No," Kaoru replied. "I don't think so…"

 "Meanie!" Misao said. She looked around and spotted a table behind Kaoru that had probably the strangest boys she'd ever seen. There was a boy who had short black hair and blue eyes, a boy with long red hair tied into a ponytail and lavender eyes and a boy with short black hair with black-violet eyes. 

 "Are you going to be studying today?" Kaoru asked. She finished her porridge. 

 "Yep, I go to study every second day starting today." Misao replied. Suddenly, a tall boy with spiked brown hair grabbed Misao around the neck and scuffed her hair. "Hey!"

 "Study doesn't start until fifteen minutes! Wanna go outside to play?" Sanosuke asked, laughing. "Come on Taka it will be fun!" Sanosuke saw Kaoru and grinned, "Hi, I'm Sanosuke Sagara." 

 "I'm Akai. Taka's brother." Kaoru said. She looked worriedly at Misao whose face looked like it had turned from green to blue to purple. "Um...." 

 "Oh sorry," Sano dropped Misao. Misao leaned forward and gasped for air. "So what do ya say?" After a nervous pause, "Alright!" He grabbed the collar of Misao and Kaoru's shirt and dragged them towards the door. 

 "Sanosuke, have you seen Seijuro-sensei?" Kenshin walked up to Sano. He paused and looked at Kaoru. "Hi Akai." 

 "H-Hi…" Kaoru wheezed. She was punching Sano's arm to let her go and when he did she gasped for breath. She made a mental note to herself that Sanosuke was a very big, and a very tough boy as well as stupid. 

 "This is Taka Kamiya." Sanosuke introduced Misao to Kenshin. 

 "Let… me… go!" Misao punched Sanosuke upside the head and then landed on the floor with a thump. "Ow…" 

 "Are you two twins?" Kenshin asked. 

Misao and Kaoru looked at him and then each other. "Yeah… not identical though..." They both said at the same time. Sanosuke laughed. 

Misao and Kaoru both stood straight and glared at Sanosuke. Misao suddenly got an idea that might work. "You know I can freak you out?" Misao asked Sanosuke in her 'guy' voice. 

 "Yeah right." Sanosuke said. 

Misao winked at Kaoru.

 "You better not Taka…" Kaoru didn't know what Misao was going to do but she pretended to. 

Misao pretended to clear her throat and then in her normal girl voice, a bit exaggerated though, she said, "Oh Sanosuke, I'm gonna tell Okina about what you did last night with little innocent…"

 "Oro?" Kenshin staggered back. Sanosuke took a couple of steps back. 

 "Er…" Sanosuke looked like he was going to run. "You really are freaky…" 

Kaoru started laughing. Misao sounded like a doll talking like in the scary stories that other kids would tell each other late at night. 

 "Better get to class before Seijuro-sensei beats you up Kenshin," A tall boy with black hair and blue eyes said coolly to Kenshin before leaving the large food hall. 

 "Yeah," Kenshin nodded, "I'll see you guys later." He headed towards the door. 

 "Now, let's go and see what the pond has today…" Sanosuke said. He turned around to face Kaoru and Misao but found them rushing after Kenshin. 

 "WAIT FOR US!!!" 

* * * *

Kaoru was seated in the back row of tables between Misao and Kenshin. The classroom was big enough for the students who were aged from six to seven years old. 

 "Who's our teacher today?" Kaoru asked Kenshin. 

 "Seijuro-sensei, he teaches us history." Kenshin replied quietly. "After, Sekihara-sensei will be teaching us literature, she is also the cook," He paused for a moment and then continued. "Okina-sensei teaches us maths. The senior student teachers are Katsura-sensei, Takasugi-sensei and Takani-sensei." 

 "Baka-deshi! Quiet!" Hiko shouted as he entered the room. The students stood and bowed. They waited for him to gesture for them to sit. When everyone was settled, Hiko began to talk about past eras. 

Kaoru was listening carefully. She didn't know how to write yet but she was determined to learn. 

* * * *

After the lessons had finished, it was late afternoon. Kaoru and Misao were heading to the bathhouse covered in mud. "I don't know why you would want to learn all that," Misao groaned while yawning. "And I don't get why Rooster-head is so mean!" 

Kaoru giggled. She was also covered in mud. When they entered the bathhouse, they were relieved that there wasn't anyone in there. "That's good." Kaoru closed the door and barricaded it. "You go first Misao; I'll go after but make it quick." Misao nodded.

Kaoru turned back to the door and kept an eye out for anyone coming. 

Misao stripped off her mud-covered clothes and from the basin she used the water to wash of the mud. She quickly slipped into the cold-water bathtub and almost shrieked. Kaoru gave her a warning look. 

After five minutes, Misao had dried and dressed up, it was Kaoru's turn. When Kaoru was in the bathtub, Misao spotted someone coming. "Uh oh…" 

 "What is it?" Kaoru asked while washing her hair. 

 "A group of boys are coming!" Misao grabbed a towel and passed to Kaoru as she dried herself quickly. Kaoru pulled on a pair of pants and a shirt. She slipped on her sandals and continued drying her hair. 

Misao un-barricaded the door. The two exited the bathhouse. They were on their way towards the dorm building when the group of boys stopped them. 

 "Aren't you going to pay?" A big guy with short brown hair and eyes said. A shorter guy stood beside him. He also had short brown hair and eyes. 

 "Who are you?" Misao asked. She didn't like the look of this at all. 

 "We're the Himura Brothers! I'm Gohei." The taller of the two said. 

 "I'm Kihei." The other said. "Now are you going to give some money or do we have to force it from you two?"

 "No way!" Kaoru and Misao said in unison. But they regretted it since there were another four boys behind the Himura Brothers that looked aggressive. 

 "What do we do Akai?" Misao asked. She looked at Kaoru. Kaoru returned the look.

 "Do you know what we have to do?" Kaoru asked. Misao nodded. They both took a deep breath. 

 "RUN!" 

* * * *

After dinner, Misao and Kaoru were sitting in Okina's office writing out lines of, 'I must not use an inked brush as a weapon on Gohei and Kihei Himura.'

 "Psst, how many sentences have you written already?" Misao asked Kaoru quietly while Okina was snoring away in his seat. It was really late. Well passed their curfew. 

 "15. It's really hard to write these words, especially these two weird looking ones." Kaoru said. She pointed her wooden blunt end of her ink brush to the two characters. 

 "Those two characters are 'Gohei' and 'Kihei'." Misao said with a giggle. "I've only written 12 sentences and how many do we have to write?" She was getting really tired and sleepy. 

 "Two thousand." Kaoru groaned. 

The two groaned and continued writing until early next morning. School was fun and really interesting for Kaoru but sometimes it really, really had its downsides. 

* * * *

Six Months Later – July

Kaoru – 7 years old, Misao – 7 years old, Kenshin – 8 years old, Sanosuke – 8 years old, Aoshi – 8 years old, Saitoh – 8 years old, Soujiro – 7 years old

_Seventh Month, Sixteenth Day_

_Dear Father and Mother,_

_School is fun and I am learning a lot. Taka and I miss you very much. We have made friends with a few boys. Their names are, Kenshin, Sanosuke, Aoshi and Soujiro. Taka and I would like to wish you all the best!_

_At school I'm learning a lot about writing, maths and history. I heard that next year I would be able to learn about art and culture. Taka is learning how to fight using kempo and kunai and I am learning how to fight with a sword. Maybe one day I will be very good at it like you, Father! _

_Love from,_

_K. Akai and M. Taka._

Kaoru and Misao read over their first letter ever to be written with smiles. 'Mummy and daddy will be very happy.' Kaoru thought. She carefully folded the piece of paper after she was sure that the black ink had dried and sealed it in its envelope. She passed it to Misao. 

 "I'll go and give it to Seijuro-sensei!" Misao rushed off. 

Kaoru packed away her brush and ink. She sighed and stretched her arms. Today was the seventh day (Saturday) of the week; that meant that they were having a break all day. Kaoru and Misao had gotten up early so that they can write a letter to their parents. 

When Misao came back the two of them left Misao's room and headed outside where they were greet by a group of boys. 

 "We're allowed to go to the lake to have a swim!" Sanosuke said with a broad smile. "It's not far from here so bring something to swim in!" 

Kaoru and Misao looked awestruck. "No thanks." 

Sano slumped. "You're just like Aoshi, Saitoh and Kenshin. Come on! Soujiro and I are going!" 

 "I'd prefer to just walk there." Kenshin said, "I don't like swimming." 

 "Yeah right," Sano said mockingly, "Last time you did go swimming."

 "Was my first and last time with you," Kenshin said with a smirk. 

 "Boys! Wait up!" Tae came rushing up to them with a baskets filled with food. "You must not leave without taking something to eat." She said. She passed the basket to Kaoru and another to Misao. 

 "Thank you, Sekihara-sensei," They bowed to her then they all walked towards the woods where Sano was leading the way. 

 "I didn't know that he can swim…" Misao muttered. 

 "Well, he can, and he asks us to bring our swimming stuff so that we have to jump in to get the fish." Kenshin said. 

 "That's what happened to Kenshin last time only because he was the fastest. The truth is that he just makes us almost drown." Aoshi said coolly. 

 "I don't mind that, I'm too fast for him to get me." Soujiro said with a smile. 

Kaoru and Misao nodded. That made a lot of sense. Plus, it was a good thing that Tae had packed them a lot of food because Sano does eat a lot. 

* * * *

So much for not swimming. Sano and practically thrown everyone into the water after they joked about him and a certain girl. 

 "That Takani girl is always buggin' me!" Sano fumed at them. "She even dobbed on me for just insulting her!" 

The group couldn't stop laughing. Megumi Takani was the daughter of Dr. Takani and she always picked on Sano. The two never got along well and when they meet, it was hilarious. 

 "Oh shut up!" Sano dunked Kenshin's head under the water. He splashed at Kaoru and Misao. 

 "Water-fight!!!" Water splashed everywhere. When the group was tired out they swam to shore and took a break. Soujiro and Misao took out food from the baskets and passed on fair shares to everyone. 

 "It's late afternoon, if we go after this, we might be back in time for dinner." Aoshi said. He took a bite of an apple and chewed on it. 

 "Yeah! I'm starving!" Sano said between mouthfuls. He took a bite from a rice ball. 

Kaoru and Misao laughed at Sano. "Ow… my stomach hurts!!!" Misao exclaimed while laughing which made it funnier. 

 "What are we going to be studying tomorrow?" Soujiro asked. 

 "Literature and Maths." Kenshin replied. 

After that, the group ate quickly and then walked their way back to the school. Over the six months, they all had become close friends. But for Misao and Kaoru, it was a relief that they had become friends with boys who aren't swarmed with attention seeking girls who wanted to play dolls. 

* * * *

Late at night, Kaoru was woken up by noises of shuffling papers and flicking of books. She sat up in her futon and found Kenshin studying at the table. "What are you doing so late at night?" 

 "I'd forgotten that tomorrow we're having a test on Japan's eras…" Kenshin said with a yawn. He flicked over another page. 

 "Just read from the second page to the fourth." Kaoru yawned. "Those pages explain everything." She leaned back onto the head rest and fell asleep again. 

Kenshin flicked back to the second page and found papers that had notes written by Kaoru. He read through them and found them easier to understand than the textbook. 

* * * *

 "No way! You've got to be kidding me!" Misao checked under her futon, "You're dirty socks are under my futon!" It was late at night and Misao was woken up by a dreadful smell. 

 "I'll clean it up tomorrow!" Sano ducked his head under his blankets. 

 "Get rid of them now!" Misao demanded. She pulled Sano's blanket from him and pointed to the dirty, smelly socks under her futon. "I'm not going to let your sleep!" 

Sano was really agitated and tired. "I said I'll clean them up tomorrow!" 

 "Oh I give up!" Misao opened the closet and pulled out her bag. She packed in her clothes and belongings. "I'm out of here!" 

 "It's passed curfew!" Sano groaned. 

 "I'm not coming back!" Misao warned. "Friend or no friend! I'm really angry with you!" She lifted her bags and marched out of the room. Leaving Sano sitting there dumbfounded. 

* * * *

Misao could go to Kaoru's dorm room and ask if she can stay there but it was really late already. 'I'm not going back to that messy room,' Misao thought. She pondered a bit. She soon met up with a familiar girl. 'She's the one that usually helps out in the kitchen…' Misao thought. 

 "What are you doing up so late?" The girl with chin-length black hair asked. Her brown eyes were worried. 

 "What about you?" Misao asked. 

Silence. 

 "I asked you first." The girl said in a soft tone. 

 "I'm leaving my old dorm room because Sano is so messy." Misao replied. "What's your name by the way?" 

 "I'm Tsubame." Tsubame said. "If you want, you can stay in the spare room near the kitchen area." She suggested kindly. 

 "That'd be good." Misao said. "I'm Taka Kamiya." 

Tsubame smiled. "I'll show you the way but don't be noisy, Seijuro-sensei has good hearing." She led Misao through the halls towards the Dining Hall and then into the kitchen and behind the kitchen was a few rooms. They were probably for Tae, Tsubame and a couple of servants. Tsubame showed Misao a small room with one futon, and desk with a candle. Almost the same as her other room only half it's size. "Here we are." 

 "Thank you Tsubame." Misao said with a smile. 

 "That's alright, um… I've gotta get back to bed before Tae finds me gone. Good night Taka." Tsubame said as she walked towards a room. 

 "Good night." Misao entered the room and slid the shouji door closed. 

* * * *

A/N: Sorry for the late update! But I've been really busy preparing for my exams as well as keeping up with my homework. Thanks for all of the reviews! I'm so happy! ^-^x

**Ashcandy****: I'll definitely keep going with this fic. It's a nice change from my other three. ^-^x Thanks for your review and hope that you liked this chapter!**

**Lynnie6: ***blushes deep red* Thanks! You really encouraged me! Hope that you liked this chapter as well. ^-^x

**Mika: ***laughs* Well, thanks for your comments. Hope you liked this chapter!

**Forbi****:  V ^o^ V Happy readings! Thanks for your review!**

**D: **Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. ^-^x

**Ixchen****: You're just the best! You've reviewed practically all my fics right? *hugz* Thank you!!! ^o^x**

**The Sacred Night: **Yeah, I agree. Kenshin's alternate selves developing are what I look forward to writing about. Anywayz, thanks for reading!!! ^-^x

**Flyinangel777:** Oh no, no, no, I'm not 'pairing' the characters up yet. I just thought that I should separate Misao and Kaoru so that they would meet the other characters and have their own adventures, giving me wider options so that I would avoid writer's block. Anywayz, thanks for reading and for your reviews!!! ^-^x

**Nee-chan: **Yep… I think that I should update more often but my schedules are getting stuffed up again since my exams are coming, and the teachers are getting behind on teaching us the right topics. *shrugs and frowns* Thanks for reading my fics! You rule!

**Jin Nori: **I hope that this chapter answered your question. ^-^x

Thanks for reading guys and gals! You all rule and I hope that I'll update this Friday. (No promises though) Sorry for a real late update. Until next time, 

~ Cherry Chibi


	4. Chapter Four

**Disclaimer:** I no own Rurouni Kenshin…

Hidden in Study - Chapter 4 – By Cherry Chibi

It was a bright day and everyone was on their break in between their studies. As usual, Kaoru, Kenshin, Misao, Aoshi, Soujiro, Saitoh and Sano were taking sitting outside on the lawn. Everything was peaceful for the young kids… well… would've been. A seven-year-old girl had thrown a stick at Sano. 

 "Stupid Vixen!" Sano cursed at a girl who hand long waist length black hair and piercing chocolate brown eyes. She poked out her tongue at him. He jumped to his feet. 

 "Oh no, again." Misao grumbled. "How many times already?" 

 "Third time this week." Kaoru said. She watched with amazement. The girl often came around and picked on Sanosuke whenever she could. Megumi Takani. 

 "No, fourth." Aoshi corrected. He sat back with his cool, calm and collected look and watched Sano and Megumi fight with a smirk. 

 "Rooster head!"

 "Stupid Vixen!"

 "Rooster head!" 

 "Stupid Vixen!" 

 "There's no need to fight," Kenshin stood between them but got hit in the head by Sanosuke by accident. He fell onto the ground. "Then… maybe… go ahead." Kaoru, Misao and Soujiro were laughing. 

 "Rooster head! Look at what you did!" Megumi knelt beside Kenshin and pulled him to his feet. "Rooster head is so mean!" 

 "Stupid Vixen started it!" Sanosuke tried to defend himself. 

 "We better get to class." Saitoh added in quickly, "Seijuro-sensei wouldn't go easy on us again." He stood and stretched his limbs. "We've got two minutes to get there." 

 "Stupid Vixen…" Sanosuke seethed, he clenched and unclenched his hands. That girl was always doing something to really piss him off. 

 "There, there, Kenshin, Rooster-head was so cruel, are you alright?" Megumi coaxed Kenshin. Kenshin nicely pulled Megumi's hands of his arm. 

 "I'm fine." He said, "Now, I have to get to class. Wait up guys!" The group had walked off without him. He sprinted after them, leaving Megumi behind. 

Megumi crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "Boys are so mean." She then eyed Taka (Misao) and Akai (Kaoru) with suspicion, "But those two are real weird. They're almost like as if they are… no. All boys act like girls anyway."

* * * *

 "Taka, may you please run over to Okina-sensei's office and ask him for the next documents?" Tae asked. Misao stood straight and bowed. 

 "Yes, Sekihara-sensei." Misao said. She rushed out of the room. 'I'm beginning to like the idea of school, never thought that it would be so much fun just helping out the teachers…' While Misao was pondering she bumped into someone along the way. 

 "Watch it!" Megumi shouted. 

 'Just what I need now,' Misao thought. 

 "Oh, it's you." Megumi said, "Well, you need help on anything?"

 "No, I'm going to Okina-sensei's office that's all." Misao replied. 

 "Alright Taka, see you later." Megumi continued walked along the hall. 

* * * *

The classroom was dead quiet. Students were working hard. The group were seated at the back row. Kaoru dipped the tip of her brush into the ink well and continued copying from the book. 

_Haiku – 5 syllables on the first line, 7 syllables on the second line and 5 syllables on the third line. _

 "Akai, where's your brother now?" Sanosuke nudged Kaoru's arm, "He's been gone for a while." 

Kaoru looked up and scanned the room. "I don't know…" 

 "Akai, Sanosuke, is there something you'd like to tell the class?" Tae suddenly asked. The two shook their heads. "Continue working please." 

 "Yes, Sekihara-sensei."

* * * *

_Eighth month, Second day_

_Dear Taka and Akai,_ _            We're sorry that we haven't replied sooner. We've been very busy working on the farm as well as dealing with troublesome people. _

            _You two better stop swapping names on us! Besides that, your mother and I are both missing you both a lot. It's very quiet around here now. We wish that we could come and visit sometime but the farm needs a lot of work. It is very good that the both of you are making friends but be careful not to get into fights and trouble alright? _

_            I see that you're writing is very impressive after six months. Keep up the hard work and make sure that you're both happy! I would have never thought that the two of you would begin learning martial arts as well. Akai, you might one day beat me if you keep working hard. Just remember that you mustn't use the sword for the wrong reasons. Same goes to you Taka! _

_            From Dad and Mum._

* * * *

 "Argh!" Kaoru dodged an attack from Kenshin. She charged forward and skid across the floorboards of the dojo. Sweat dripped from her chin. Sword drills were becoming harder by the week. Not to mention the fact that the protective gear that she was wearing was making her itchy. 'Hiko-sensei sure loves to pick on little kids...' Kaoru thought as she lunged forward and gave Kenshin a whack on the head. Luckily for him, he was wearing protective gear. Her next attack he had dodged and then came back to strike on her head. 

"Baka-deshi! Move it!" Hiko shouted, "You have to move faster than that!" 

'Faster?' Kaoru thought, then she glanced at Kenshin's fierce look. She held back her shock. He was really taking his training seriously. Now that it has come to her attention, the other guys where also really pushing themselves. Aoshi, Saitoh, Sanosuke, Soujiro, Misao... all of them. 

"Akai! Focus!" Hiko shouted.   
"Argh!" Kenshin charged forward and struck Kaoru on the shoulder. A crunching noise accompanied by the taste of blood from gritted teeth. She fell back onto the floorboards. She gripped onto her left forearm. Too scared to move. It was hurting badly. 

"Akai!" Misao ran to Kaoru and knelt. "You Ok?" 

"Aoshi, Saitoh! Call Dr. Takani!" Hiko instructed. Aoshi and Saitoh nodded before rushing out of the dojo. 

Kenshin dropped his training weapon - which was a light sword and looked horrified for a few moments. Something took over him. He couldn't explain it. It wasn't his fault. It couldn't have been. He never wanted to hurt his friend. Kenshin watched in horror as Dr. Takani entered the room with Megumi following him with a kit of bandages and other medical equipments. He watched as they took Akai out of the dojo. He didn't know how to explain what had happened. 

"It was an accident Baka-deshi. That's what happens if you lose focus." Hiko said, "You're dismissed." Kenshin bowed to Hiko before leaving the dojo. Hiko eyed the young boy leave, 'He is still young. He doesn't understand that strength that he has...' Hiko thought, 'His intentions are very pure... strength is what he desires most. Ever since those bandits attacked his family, he has always worked hard... yes... he is a very strong boy who will one day grow into a powerful man...' 

* * * *

Kaoru cried and sniffled when she woke up. Her left arm felt numb and she couldn't move it at all. The affects of the drugs were still wearing off. She lay back on her futon and wished that the pain will go away. She heard the bedroom door slide open. 

"Kao, are you feeling ok?" Misao entered, she sat next to Kaoru. "Dr. Takani, he said that you have to rest for a few months." She frowned when she thought deeper about the problem. "Does that mean we have to go home?" 

"No!" Kaoru shouted, "I don't want to go home now! Not yet!" She started crying as the burning sharp pains erupted in her shoulder. Misao pulled the sleeve of her shirt and gently wiped the tears away from Kaoru's eyes. 

"Don't worry Kao; I'll take care of you. We won't have to tell Mum or Dad." 

* * * *

Four months later - December

"Holiday!!!!" The boys shouted as they ran out of the building and towards the carriages which were waiting for them to take them home for the rest of the month until next year. Well, everyone except for a certain group. Footsteps rummaged over the dirt paths and dust flew in the air. 

Kaoru had recovered from her fractured and dislocated shoulder and it was now only wrapped in bandages to restrict its movements. She was walking alongside Misao towards the library. 

"Holidays already..." Kaoru said quietly. 

"Yeah! Well, now I can take a break!" Misao said with a big smile. 

"Oi! Taka! Akai! Wait up!" Sanosuke caught up with them and hooked his arms around the necks. They struggled in his grip. "What's the matter?"

"Can't... breathe..." Misao gasped. 

"Oh sorry." Sanosuke released them and they both stumbled forward taking in deep breaths. 

"Where are the others?" Kaoru asked. She ruffled her scruffy short black hair with her right hand. 

"They're somewhere..." Sanosuke said. He crossed his arms. "I wonder where they are..." It had been a while since he last saw them. It was earlier in the morning and he only saw them for a half an hour. "They always do that...."

"Oh! Hi Taka!" Tsubame smiled at Misao. "I'll be seeing you next year. I'm going to see my grandpa for this month!" She smiled at Misao and the others. "Well, I better hurry!" She ran. 

"See ya Tsubame!" Misao and Kaoru shouted. 

"Later!" Sanosuke said. 

The three continued walking through the halls and they continued in silence. The thoughts that were really crowding their minds were where the others could have gone. They had disappeared for a few hours now. Misao and Kaoru were especially worried because they didn't think that they would last very long around Sanosuke. He was bigger... and stronger. 

They stopped when they reached the yard. Sanosuke bursted out yelling at Kenshin, Aoshi, Saitoh and Soujiro with anger. Misao and Kaoru kept quiet. 

"You were having a duel without me?!" Sanosuke shouted out loud, "You know how much I love to duel!" 

"Er... yeah...." Kenshin said while rubbing the back of his neck. "The thing is... we're only practising. You always win." 

"Che, yeah right." Saitoh cut in. "I can beat him." 

"I prefer to stay out of this." Soujiro said with a grin. 

Aoshi kept quiet. While Sanosuke fumed, Kaoru and Misao stifled their laughs. Even though they've been here for a year, they still found boys to be very funny and weird. They argued over the strangest things ever. "At least we know where they are now," Misao said. 

"Yeah, and now we can get some lunch." Kaoru added. 

* * * *

AN: Finally! Another update and sorry for delays! I'm gonna be doing a few time jumps that may be weeks and months over the next chapters so that I won't get writer's block. (Really hate it when that happens) Plus, you guys are gonna see the forming of Battousai! You've just witnessed a minor stage here. ox Yeah! I'll make sure that I'll update this fic more often - especially before my school holidays. I'm going to Perth and I wouldn't be able to get on the net let alone write so I'm trying my best to keep up with homework as well as updating. ^.^x ****

**Lynnie6: =**^.^= Thanks for your feedback! Hope you enjoyed reading!

**Kitsune KeNsHiN: **Thanks for reading and hope to see you next update! ^o^x

**Ixchen: **Thanks for reading! You've reviewed so many times that I've practically lost count. *laughs* Just joking. Well, see ya next time!

**Nee-Chan: **Haha… yeah. ~.~; Oh yes, I'm not sure whether you've sent me the facts but I still need the required facts for your character in this fic. ^-^; I need you character's name, age, description (physically and personality), and probably relationships with other characters, whether you'd like to be a best friend… sister or something like that. Don't forget your preferred technique in martial arts!!! Just write in the review. ^.-x

**Mika:** Yes, well, Misao is definitely gonna have an easier time since she's got a separate room now. ^-^ However, there will be disadvantages later on…

**Califpinay3001: **Hi! I don't think I've seen you before. ^-^x

**Ari and Kat:** Thanks for the review! 

Well, that's it from me!

~ Cherry Chibi****


	5. Chapter Five

**Disclaimer:** I no own Rurouni Kenshin…

Hidden in Study - Chapter 5 – By Cherry Chibi

_Six years later… December_

Kaoru – aged 13

Misao – aged 13

Aya (new character) – aged 13

Megumi – aged 13

Tsubame – 13 

Kenshin – aged 14

Sanosuke – aged 14

Aoshi – aged 14

Saitoh – aged 14

Soujiro – aged 13

Yahiko – aged 14

* * * *

Misao dodged her partner's attack with slight difficulty. 'He's fast!' It was very late evening and Misao, Aoshi and the new student of the year were training in kempo. Her partner had deep blue eyes and was always wearing a strange material hat over his head. There was something about her partner that made Misao feel a bit relaxed. She dodged a punch and took her turn. 

 "You're pretty good…" Misao heard her partner mutter. It was the first time she had ever heard the new student speak in the whole year. Suddenly, it struck her. That voice did not belong to a person who was a boy. More like a girl's voice. 

Quickly spin kicking and tripping her sparring partner over, she made eye contact with a questioning look in her eyes. Her opponent scurried to an upright position. "Alright, what's your real name?" Misao asked in a low voice so that no one else could hear. 

Her partner looked taken aback and fell silent. 

 "I know that you're not a guy." Misao continued. 

 "Aya." The girl finally replied in a stifled whisper. "Aya Hajime." Misao almost tripped over. Saitoh had a little sister?! The girl continued, "Please don't tell anyone…"

 "I won't." Misao replied, "My name is Misao." Aya looked up surprised. "You're not the only one Aya." Misao continued quietly. She pulled Aya's arm and lifted the girl to her feet. 

* * * *

Kaoru tried to write the character on the piece of parchment again. She delicately dipped the point of her brush into the inkwell and then onto the surface of the paper. "Stroke one…" Kaoru started a line down. "Stroke two…" A line across from the top. "Stroke three…four… five… six… I CAN'T DO IT!!!" She threw the brush and Kenshin quickly caught it. 

 "You are surely are frustrated Akai…" Kenshin said calmly. He placed the brush on the table. He smiled, "It's way past midnight." During the past years, a lot has changed about him. His personality mostly. Kaoru sometimes feared him, especially when he got angry. He would seem calm but he would really boil inside and the worst thing about it is that he doesn't release it. Kenshin's swordsmanship skills have surpassed any normal high standard and he's been making disappearing acts to someplace no one knew, not even Aoshi. That's why Kaoru was afraid of him. 

But their bonds have grown stronger and brotherly. She could read him like a book most of the time and he could do the same to her. Only, Kaoru thought that he was far too dense to realize even at this age, the time when a body begins to 'develop', that she was a girl and not a guy. 

 "We should get to rest, tomorrow Seijuro-sensei is taking us into the village to buy ingredients again. We have to rest up." Kenshin said. "These holidays have been filled with hard work…"

 "At least it gets us stronger." Kaoru showed her biceps. She flexed them before hiding them again with the brown sleeve of her top. 

Suddenly they both heard a bell ring. Sanosuke stormed into the room. "Guys, bandits have attacked the school again! Seijuro-sensei and Okina-sensei want us to protect the juniors." 

 "Right." 

* * * *

Misao and Saitoh led the girls to the assigned hiding area. So far, she has calculated that there have been another twenty bandits attacking. She couldn't understand why those people would attack the school, it was the fifth attack that week and at this rate, it seemed that it was only going to get worse. 

 "Taka, the hiding area is this way," Saitoh muttered. 

The group turned. Fires had been lit around the gates. The blazing flames glowed like demons in the dark. "Saitoh, where is Megumi?" Misao asked, beads of sweat gathered on her forehead. "She hasn't been seen." 

 "That's the reason why these damn bandits are here!" 

 "What?!" Misao looked shocked. 

Tsubame and Aya were running closely behind them. "Didn't you hear? Megumi's father had been making refined opium lately and has been selling it to those bandits." Tsubame said as she ran, "They've been forcing him into making the stuff but he finally had the courage to say no and told everyone else." 

 "And the bandits are pissed." Aya added. 

* * * *

Kenshin and Kaoru barricaded the door of the dojo. The junior students were huddled together. There were altogether 10 junior students. Bandits from the outside banged onto the door. They both pushed hard against the door to help stop the men outside entering. It was dark in the dojo and flares of ember lit the edges from the gaps of windows and doors. 

 "This isn't good Kenshin! We have to get the kids to another place! The bandits could burn this dojo and trap us all in here!" Kaoru shouted over the commotion. 

Kenshin shook his head. "They wouldn't. They're looking for Megumi and Dr. Takani, they're not sure where the two are." Wood smashed and blood spurted. A blade had punctured through the wooden door and through Kaoru's side. 

 "Argh!" She backed away from the door. Her left hand gripped the wound on her right.

 "Akai!" Kenshin growled as he backed away from the door and drew out his sword. "Hurry! Get the juniors out of here through the back!" 

 "Alright!" Kaoru nodded. She made firm eye contact with the young kids. A couple of them had tied bandages around her waist to cover the injury. "Follow me!" She glanced back at Kenshin, "Good luck!" 

 "Go." Kenshin said coldly. Kaoru felt the shivers. Something wasn't right. His ki didn't feel warm and friendly as it usually did to her but now fierce and cold. She shook her head. 

 'No time to think about this now,' she thought. She led the kids through the back. A few moments later, she was greeted by four tall bulky men wearing tattered clothing. Each of them grinning. 

 "Little brat, where are the Takani family?" One of them asked with a brutal force. 

 "I wouldn't tell you!" Kaoru said as she drew out her sword. The blade shimmered in amber. "I warn you to leave this school!" In an instant the men broke out into laughter. They stopped when they realized the seriousness in Kaoru's eyes and ki. "I will repeat myself," Kaoru said slowly, "I warn you to leave this school or there will be consequences." The junior students crowded behind Kaoru to hide from sight. 

 "Brat!" One of the bandits drew out his sword and swiped it at Kaoru. She backed up and easily dodged. "You think you're a samurai?!" He charged forward and attacked. Kaoru countered it with a block with her blade. 

 "Kids! Move away!" Kaoru shouted. She gritted her teeth and let out a battle cry. "I warned you!" She leapt into the air, "Hiten Mitsurugi Ryuu! Ryu-Sou-Sen!" With clean moves and wounded the man but held back so that he didn't get the full impact. He flinched and cowardly backed away with anger burning in his eyes. 

It wasn't usual that Kaoru would use this technique since she wasn't entirely used to it but over the passed few months Kenshin had asked her to become his sparring partner and it order for her to become a proper one, he had to teach her the moves. In other words, she was learning off Kenshin without Hiko knowing. 

 "Brat! We'll teach you not to mess with us!" All four men attacked and the children behind Kaoru were beginning to back away further. 

 "Ryu-Kan-Sen!" Kaoru countered their meaningless efforts and knocked them down onto the ground. She landed neatly and turned back to them. "I've told you that there would be consequences." She looked at the kids, "Come on! Let's hurry!" The group ran as fast as possible towards the next building. On the way, Kaoru spotted Hiko and Okina fighting and defeating the bandits group by group and villagers where putting out the fires. 

* * * *

Misao and Saitoh shut the door behind them and the group hid in silence. Beads of sweat dripped from Misao's chin. "Damn, how long is this going to last?" 

 "Hopefully not very long." Saitoh said. "With Hiko-sensei and Okina-sensei as well as the other teachers, these bandits won't last until sunrise." He sat beside Aya, "I told you that it was pointless coming here." 

Aya puffed up. "I want to learn stuff so just back off Saitoh." She crossed her arms and turned her head away from Saitoh. Tsubame looked worriedly at the two. Outside the loud banging of the alarm bell sounded. Commotion of yells and cries. Soon after, there was sudden silence. 

* * * *

The wooden floors where stained by a crimson fluid and blistered by holes. Kenshin stood at the centre. He had knocked out several bandits and had held back from killing. He had no intention to. 'Akai should have taking the juniors to the next building where the dormitories are.' He thought as he sprinted at remarkable speed. 'This time, the bandits must have gotten impatient and attacked with full force… they're idiots. Now they'll all see the true colours of the Taiyou no Kokoro school…' 

He entered the building and found the everyone safe but he immediately frowned when he found Akai struggling. "Akai, let me see that wound." Kaoru backed away from him quickly. "It's alright Akai, I'll only check the wounds and then bandage them properly." 

 'I'll be exposed!' Kaoru thought, she couldn't let anyone know her true identity yet. Besides, she didn't want to remove her shirt since the room was filled with young boys and Kenshin. "I-I'll get Dr. Takani to check it later…" 

 "You have to get your wounds treated as soon as possible." Kenshin said. 

 "No, no. I'm fine." 

 "You could get an infection if it isn't cleansed." 

 "I can do it myself."

 "Akai, you're being a fool here." Kenshin's eyes flashed amber dangerously. He hated it when people disagreed with him about situations like these when it could endanger their own well being. He hated it when people are being foolish and stubborn. 

 "Fine!" Kaoru nervously removed her shirt and Kenshin cocked an eyebrow. 

 "Why do you have bandages wrapped all around your torso?" Kenshin asked, it was strange because usually, he would only wrap bandages around his stomach area for protection and that's about it. 

 "Er… Dr. Takani said that I needed to wrap bandages there… because… ah… I… ah… injured myself there." Kaoru said. She felt her face blush to high heat and she was grateful that she wasn't a sixteen year old. 

 "Oh." Kenshin undid the bottom bandages and checked her cut near the waist. "You're going to need to wash this wound…" He called one of the junior students to bring him a basin of water and a cloth. 

The fight ended a few moments later and peace was restored to the school. A few of the teachers came around and checked on them making sure that everyone was safe from harm. 

* * * *

Early next morning, while Kaoru was resting in her room feeling heavily drowsy from the medication that Dr. Takani have given her. Everyone else had gone out to help with the fixing of the school while injured students took a break. She shifted in bed and then she heard loud shouts. 

 "50 more!"

 "No way!" 

 "Listen boy!"

 "I'm not a boy! I'm Yahiko Myoujin of a long line of samurai!" 

Kaoru blocked her ears and tried to get some rest. She had a feeling that she was going to meet that boy soon and it wasn't going to be pleasant. 

The shouji door slid open and Misao entered the room. "Kao, are you feeling alright?"

 "Just tired." Kaoru said with a yawn. "And sore." 

 "Well, I thought I'd come to visit while I'm on my break." Misao said. "I hope that you'll feel better soon." 

 "Yeah…"

 "Why is it that you always get injured?" Misao questioned, "A while ago you injured your ankle, before that was your arm and before that was your shoulder…"

 "I get the point." Kaoru said. "I don't know. Maybe its because of the training I do. Anyway, that's normal to happen." She pulled her blanket to cover her shoulders. "Misao, how much longer do you think we can hide the truth?" 

Misao understood the question immediately. "I don't know. But they will realize soon. Especially since we're changing. It's getting harder to imitate a boys' voice nowadays since the guys' voice are deepening." She sat cross legged beside Kaoru's futon. 

Kaoru sighed. "Misao, I wonder what the others would think about us after they find out though…" Misao shrugged. 

 "I wonder what Aoshi is gonna think…" 

 "You have a crush on him don't you?"

 "No I don't!" 

 "Yes you do!" 

 "No I don't!" 

 "You've been talking about him almost everyday." Kaoru said teasingly. Misao blushed and crossed her arms in defense. She wasn't. Aoshi was her friend. A close one. Then she continued to think about it, trying to find all the right words to say out loud against Kaoru's statement. "I'm just kidding Misao!" 

Misao sighed with relief. 

* * * *

AN: *cough, cough* There we go! *cough* Another nice chapter! (And I've finally updated) As you can see, Battousai is forming along quite nicely. *cough* There would be more appearances of Battousai in each chapter until the full 'transformation'. Thanks for all of your reviews guys! *cough, cough, sniffle* I'm sick. 

**PoPlAr****: Well, you're going to have to read to find out what happens to Kenshin for Battousai to develop completely. And yeah, you better update soon and if not, then you might not see my reviews for a while since I wouldn't be able to use the internet. .x Besides all of that, thanks for reading and reviewing! **

**Ixchen****: ^o^x Thanks!!!**

**Flyinangel777: **Yep. I'm going to do time jumps like how I jumped 6 years. I want to keep this interesting for everyone so when a certain age gets boring then I move on. ^-^x Oh, and in this fic, I'm not going to form Battousai on Kenshin through all of that violence and stuff, I want to make this different so its gonna be Battousai forming through Kenshin's emotions. (sorry for babbling) Thanks for reading and reviewing!

**DemonMiko****: I tried to update asap. Thanks for reading and giving feedback!**

**Kitsune KeNsHiN: **Yep, the forming of Battousai has begun and that's going to be one of the main focuses from now on. Thanks for reading! ^-^x

**SilverKnight7: **Tried to update asap. Hope you liked it! ^o^x

**Nee-chan: **So how did you think of Aya? Hm? Hope you liked this chapter! Before I forget, LMAO means Laugh My Ass Off. (I'm pretty sure it was you who asked…)

**Willow****: Really? You've never read a fic where the Kenshin-gumi are little kids? Hm… now I think about it, I haven't either… ^.^x Thanks for giving me those wonderful comments and yes, romance will come but later. ^-^x Thanks for reading and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter!**

**Lynnie6: ***coughs and wheezes* Thanks! Hope that you liked this chapter! ^o^x

Thanks everyone for reviewing and reading this fic! I'm really feeling guilty that I haven't updated lately but there are many, many, many reasons to why I couldn't and right now, my main reason is 'cos I'm sick and I'm going to be visiting the doctor. *coughs, sniffles* 

Until next time!

~ Cherry Chibi


	6. Chapter Six

**Disclaimer:** I no own Rurouni Kenshin…

Hidden in Study – Chapter 6 – By Cherry Chibi

_Two days later… after the school had been fixed to an acceptable state…_

It was late in the afternoon and everyone was seated in the classroom listening as their literature teacher spoke and taught them new characters of kanji. Misao however, was on her day off so she had to just help the teacher. The last class of the day was about to be finish. _'I hope that Kaoru gets better soon… Dr. Takani said that Kaoru wouldn't be able to get out bed until a day or more…' Misao thought, _'She's missing out on a lot of stuff.' __

 "Taka, can you please give this to Akai?" Tae handed Misao a small pile of papers. "These are the things that he'll need to study when he can." Misao nodded while she accepted. The class finished off and everyone packed up their things and rushed out of the room. 

Misao caught up with the others and followed them. She smiled to herself, _'This group has grown pretty big…' _The group stopped at the dining hall and seated themselves while every one, besides Misao, spread out their notes to look over. 

 "Hey, Kenshin, let me see your notes…" Sanosuke nudged Kenshin a bit to hard. "I didn't get much down." Kenshin passed Sanosuke sheets of paper with writing scrawled all over. Sanosuke's face screwed up. "Man… you've got bad writing…" 

 "If you can't write your own notes then don't complain about someone else's." A highly feminine voice spat. 

Everyone silenced while Sanosuke's face turned furiously to a Fox-girl. "Who said that you could talk to me?" He stood from the table abruptly. Megumi flashes him a wicked smile.

 "I am your friend and I was only giving you advice." Megumi said. "Anyway, you'll need all the help you can get." 

Soujiro, Kenshin, Misao, Aoshi, Saitoh and Aya looked onto Sanosuke preparing for his outburst of violence. However, none came. Instead, Sanosuke just smiled back at Megumi. "Why is it that you always torment me and no one else?" Sanosuke asked calmly with a twinkle of mischief in his eyes. "Is it because of my charms that just get you attracted to me… or…"

The table exploded into laughter. "Way to go Sanosuke!" Soujiro laughed. Saitoh and Aoshi had even cracked a small grin. Misao bit her lower lip in attempt to stop herself laughing so hard so that she could breathe. 

 "Ack! Me attracted to you?!" Megumi's cheeks reddened. "No way!" She crossed her arms in defense. She growled exasperated and rushed out of the room. 

 "Bye-bye!" Sanosuke waved at Megumi when she took a glance back. He settled into his seat. "Chee, never thought that Fox would ever react like that." 

* * * *

 "You should've been there Kaoru!" Misao said as she finished off reporting the whole day to Kaoru who was seated upright on her futon. Kaoru had pink tinged cheeks from laughing. 

 "I wish," Kaoru said, "Three days sitting in here gets really boring and lonely." She flipped through the sheets of learning material that had accumulated over the days. "At least I'm up to date with the study." Misao nodded. An abrupt pull slammed over the door revealing a very annoyed looking Kenshin. He stepped into the room and closed the door shut. 

 "Is something wrong?" Misao asked. Kenshin didn't reply, instead it shoved his sword into the closet. Misao turned to Kaoru and whispered, "I better get going." Kaoru agreed and Misao left quietly and unnoticed by Kenshin. 

 "What's wrong?" Kaoru asked. "Has Hiko-sensei been…" She stopped and withdrew her breath quickly when Kenshin's eyes glowed amber for a moment before returning to their normal amethyst colour. _'That… no.__ It must have been the trick of the light.' Kaoru thought. _

 "Hiko-sensei has such an ego that gets me so pissed." Kenshin growled while he tended to his small minor cuts. He changed into his yukata. 

 "Uh-huh." Kaoru said under her breath. 

After a few moments of awkward silence, Kenshin sighed and smiled weakly. "Sorry Akai, I shouldn't have let my anger go like that, I should apologize to Taka tomorrow…" 

 "It's normal to get angry." Kaoru said. "You're not like Soujiro who is the master of being cheerful." 

 "I guess." Kenshin agreed. "How's your recovery?" He unfolded his futon. "Dr. Takani said that you should be out and about in a couple of days." 

 "Everything's OK." Kaoru replied, "I think that I would be able to walk around tomorrow but I'll need to take it easy. The wound has pretty much closed up." Kenshin was kneeling beside her and then he found something tucked under the pile of textbooks. He pulled it out. Kaoru heard her breathing stop. 

 "These are…"

 "I can explain…" Kaoru stammered. _'How am I supposed to get out of this one?' _She felt her cheeks burn up as Kenshin held the little parcel that contained hair ribbons and a small bottle of perfume. 

Kenshin chuckled. "Probably it was meant to be given to someone else," He said, "The name on the parcel says Kaoru." He put it on top of the pile of books. "The person who handed the parcel to you probably gave you the wrong one." 

Kaoru let out a breath slowly. _'Lucky…Lucky for me that Kenshin is so dense at these things…' _

 "Alright, good night." 

 "Night." 

* * * *

Misao hid her parcel that she had received from Kaoru's parents in a hole under a loose floorboard. _'I have this feeling that Kaoru and I won't be able to pull this thing for any longer than a couple of years… it's getting harder…Not to mention that Saitoh's and Aoshi's have already cracked…' _She ruffed her short black hair.

 "I need a bath." She slowly grabbed her things and slid out of her room silently. On the way to the bathhouse, she spotted Aya. "Hey! Matsu!" Misao hissed. Aya's head perked up and said hi to Misao with a shy smile. "What are you doing out so late?" 

 "I need a bath." Aya said quietly. "It's hard to find a time where there aren't any guys in the bathhouse." 

 "Well, I'm heading to take a bath as well, we can takes turns on keeping a look out." Misao said, Aya nodded. They hurried to the bathhouse and rushed across the yard to the back. It was a cold night and a harsh wind blew. 

The two girls stepped walked up the wooden steps. 

 "You go first." Aya said. 

 "Ok, thanks." Misao said. She opened the door and stepped in. 

 "ELEPHANT!" 

 "WAH?!" Aya tripped down the steps after Misao crashed into Aya's back. The two stumbled on top of each other. "Misao, you blew your cover." Aya hissed. 

 "Um… ah…" Misao's face was burning like a camp fire as she rose to her feet while rubbing her head furiously. She covered her cheeks with her hands and shook her head. "Stupid. Stupid. Stupid." She wanted to slap herself for reacting like that. 

 "What on earth was wrong?" Aya questioned. Misao was just mentally kicking herself while shaking her head left to right really quickly. "Taka?" 

 "I'm so stupid!" Misao said embarrassed. "Don't you know who was in there?! Argh! I'm so stupid!" Aya heard the bathhouse door close shut and a tall figure stepped out. She covered her mouth while she blushed feeling embarrassed for Misao. 

Misao turned around still with her hands on her cheeks. "Um… ah… so… no point hiding myself to you now huh?" She asked while forcing herself to stare into the guy's face. Her hands felt like that were being fried on hot plates. 

 "That'd be a good start." Aoshi said feeling his cheeks slightly burning too. 

* * * *

AN: Hey everyone! Hope that you all remember me! (of course you do… I think) I'm SOOOOOO sorry for the long wait but as I said, I've been traveling a hell of a lot and now I'm just tired… Tired of traveling so I'll be staying put for now. :p Well, I've finally been able to get onto the internet so I can update! I thank you all for waiting and for reading! ^o^x

**Chibi Sana: **I know what you mean about the time jump. But I made sure it wasn't like a big major thing. Hope you liked the chapter!

**Silver Knight 7:** Thanks! ^o^    ^.-    ^-^ V 

**MP1**: OH DARN! Really? I didn't know that I made that mistake…  thanks for telling me! I guess that I'm gotten too used to typing 'Himura'. Hehe, well, thanks! ^o^x And about when Kaoru and Misao are exposed… hehe… you'll have to find out. ^.-

**Syaoran's Blossom:** *pulls SB up* No need to say sorry for sort of forgetting. As long as you enjoy it that's all. I'm glad that you've caught up though! ^-^x

**Ixchen:** Here's another chapter and I hope that you liked it. ^.- Thanks for reading and reviewing!

**The Sacred Night: **Yep, I can see a lot of funny stuff happening to Misao and Kaoru since their moving into their teenage years. Hehe… You're going to have to see how long Misao and Kaoru can hide as Taka and Akai. 

**Kik-ting: **What are they going to do? Can't tell you that but wait and see. (hopefully Cherry won't make reviewers wait too long again…) Tee hee… 

**Baka: **Alright, remember to calm down now and breathe… *in… and out…* I'm overwhelmed that you really like my fanfic. ^o^x Lol. 

**Nee-chan: **I'm glad that you're happy with Aya, just point me out when you want Aya to do something in a decision making position k? Yeah. BTW, Perth is the capital city in Western Australia. I live in Melbourne which is on the eastern side of the country. ^-^x

**Dark Girl 2: **Updated as soon as I could. Hope you liked this chappy! ^o^x

Thanks everyone! Hope to update soon. Until next time…

~ Cherry Chibi


	7. Chapter Seven

**Disclaimer:** I no own Rurouni Kenshin…

Hidden in Study – Chapter 7 – By Cherry Chibi

Kaoru walked slowly. It had been awhile since she had exercised properly and her legs were feeling wobbly. _'Who would've thought that it would be this hard to walk. Next time I should avoid getting injured so badly…' _She finally reached outside and gratefully breathed in the crisp morning air. _'It's worth it to get out once in a while.'  She noticed someone with short scruffy hair approach her with an apron on. _'What's up with the outfit?'__

 "What are you looking at?" Yahiko snapped. 

 "Er… why are you wearing that?" Kaoru asked innocently but Yahiko didn't seem to be in a good mood to be giving any explanations. By his attitude along with all the rumors she had heard, being around this guy wasn't going to be pleasant.

Not a good first impression. Their stares turned into glares. 

 "It's none of your business!" Yahiko replied curtly. 

 "Well, I was just asking! You brat!" Kaoru felt insulted. She had just asked him an innocent question. 

 "Hey! Don't call me a brat! Raccoon-dog!" 

 "Raccoon-dog?! Argh! You brat!" 

Kaoru and Yahiko threw words at each other until Tae came along with and called Yahiko. "Yahiko! Tsubame needs your help with the rice bags!" 

 "Ok! Sekihara-sensei!" Yahiko replied. "Raccoon-dog." He said as he ran away to do his tasks. 

 "Brat!" Kaoru shouted back. "Sheesh, what's up with him?" She rolled her eyes. Was it just her imagination or did she spot the mischief and laughter in that guy? 

 "A---------kai!" Misao came and threw her arms over Kaoru's shoulders. "I'm soooooo dead!" Misao started. "I'm so sorry!" 

 "What's the matter?" Kaoru asked. _'What a great morning, already its filled with 'excitement'… I feel a head ache coming…' _Kaoru thought. 

 "I'll tell you in my room…" 

* * * *

 "You what?!" Kaoru gaped at Misao. "You walked in on Aoshi while he was…" Kaoru's cheeks puffed up from her effort not to laugh. Misao pouted. 

 "Kaoru! It's not funny! He now knows that we're girls!" Misao said while blushing bright scarlet red. 

 "What?! You told him about me too?! Misao!!!!!" Kaoru stopped and calmed herself down, _'Misao is already feeling bad enough so I better not make her feel any worse, plus, why should I worry about being revealed to a friend?' _"But he said that he wouldn't tell right?" Kaoru asked. "So he wouldn't. He keeps his promises." Kaoru said. After she had finished her sentence, she puffed up and laughed again. "I can't believe you screamed 'elephant' who on earth taught you that?" 

Misao covered her face with her hands. "Argh!" Misao couldn't tell whether she should be embarrassed about the fact that she had said the wrong word at the wrong time or worried that she had blown her cover. 

 "It's alright Misao!" Kaoru said while patting Misao in the back. "Aoshi may know who we really are but he has grown to get to know our personality, revealing our true gender shouldn't change a thing." 

 "… But that's the reason I'm worried!" Misao spoke up, "Aoshi had changed personality suddenly! He…" Misao couldn't explain it. She recalled the events of last night…

_Misao turned around still with her hands on her cheeks. "Um… ah… so… no point hiding myself to you now huh?" She asked while forcing herself to stare into the guy's face. Her hands felt like that were being fried on hot plates. _

_ "That'd be a good start." Aoshi said feeling his cheeks slightly burning too._

_Crickets in the grass filled the atmosphere for a while. Aya shifted uncomfortably and then said, "Well, I better go then huh?" She said goodnight to them both and left to go back to the dorms. Misao wanted to scream after Aya to stay because now she was left alone with Aoshi. _

_ "…Why?" Aoshi started off. Misao rubbed her forearm. _

_ 'I can't lie to him anymore… I've already lied about myself and Kaoru for over six years…' Misao breathed in slowly. 'I'm sorry Kaoru…' She explained to Aoshi about how much when they were little toddlers that they had imagined themselves going to school and exploring new things. She then explained to him how much Kaoru had wanted to go to school but there weren't any schools for girls. So Kaoru had made a deal with her parents and won at the end. "Yeah…and from there, everything kind of took off." She paused for a moment. _

_Aoshi's face was blank with only his eyes showing the little of his emotions. She couldn't read whatever had been written by his icy pools. "I understand." He walked down towards the dorms. "I won't tell anyone but…" He stopped mid sentence, "Don't walk into the bathhouse until around __midnight__ alright?" _

_Misao laughed, "Oh sure, sure. I won't do that again." After Aoshi had disappeared, she stopped and gasped. 'Did he just use humour? Weird yet… hm…' _

 "Misao!" Kaoru was clicking her fingers in front of Misao's face. "You went off into dream land for a moment there." Misao blinked a couple of times before heaving a sigh. "Hey, are you alright? You seem to be… I don't know, sad." Kaoru said.

 "There's nothing to worry about." Misao said with a big smile. "Since you're up and walking, let's get to the cafeteria! I'm starving!" Kaoru nodded in agreement and stood. 

* * * *

In the cafeteria, Kaoru was welcomed and greeted by the others warmly while Misao had to silently take the spare seat beside Aoshi. "Um… Morning Aoshi." She said it as normally as she could.

 "Morning." He replied in an icy tone, it no longer held that little warmth. She felt uncomfortable from that point on and ate silently. Kaoru however acted normally but noticed Misao's change in mood. 

 "I heard that there were girls in this school who dressed up as boys," Sanosuke said half seriously and half hinting to the guys. "There's been rumours going around saying that these girls are here for some form of spying…"

 "That's not true!" Aya said abruptly. "They're here-,"She stopped and settled herself. The others were giving her strange glances while Kaoru and Misao looked at each other slightly worried. Aya looked at her older brother for help. Saitoh cleared his throat.

 "Matsu has a point," Saitoh said, "It'd be stupid if a girl would dress as a boy at this age…" He gave Aya a 'shut-your-mouth' look and she glared back at him with 'it-was-an-accident'. 

 "I suppose…" Soujiro said still smiling. 

 "Matsu… you sometimes seem suspicious…" Sanosuke said. Aya felt her heart pound faster and faster. "Like… sometimes you have this really soft voice like a girl…"

 "And you hang around with Tsubame and Megumi a lot…" Soujiro continued. 

 "Hey! Are you guys saying that I'm a girl?!" Aya choked out. _'Oh help me someone!' _It wasn't fair! They were ganging up on her and she wasn't sure what she should do, but they couldn't do anything to prove it yet…

 "I don't think its fair that you should gang up on Matsu guys," Kaoru said to Aya's defence, "He isn't a girl and that's for sure. Rooster-head, who has been spreading these rumours?" Kaoru questioned seriously. 

 "Why do you care so much Akai?" Sanosuke asked. "I heard it coming from a conversation Tsubame and Fox-girl were having." 

 "You eavesdropper!" A scream came from behind. 

 "Uh oh…" Sanosuke growled. "Morning Fox-girl!" He felt a slap at the back of his head. "What was that for?!" He glared at Megumi with death. "Since when were you given the right to harass a guy who's having breakfast?!" 

 "Since when were you given the right to tell me not to?!" Megumi replied curtly. "You eavesdropped in one of my conversations!" Their argument continued on with insults and debating.

 "Good timing…" Kaoru muttered, "Now that topic is kinda moved out of the way." Misao nodded. _'But Aoshi and Kenshin as well as Saitoh have been silent throughout… I understand that Aya is Saitoh's younger sister so he wouldn't want to make this rumour spread any further… Aoshi knows about Misao… but what about Kenshin?'_

 "Akai, are you going to start training again?" Kenshin asked Kaoru. "You've got a lot to catch up on." 

 "I hope to start again tonight." Kaoru replied, "By the way, has Seijuro-sensei's ego annoyed you any further lately?" She raised an eyebrow when Kenshin looked down with an exasperated sigh. "Kenshin?" 

 "He said things that really bother me. That's all." Kenshin replied. "It seems that the rumour is in fact true… Seijuro-sensei has asked me and Aoshi to search through groups and make sure we find the people and report them." 

 "How did he find out?" Misao asked. "Was someone reported?" She felt her throat turn into a desert.

 "A letter was sent to him explaining everything." Aoshi said more to Misao than anyone else. "Their parents were murdered by bandits." Misao's and Kaoru's upper brain functions stopped; the words just repeated in their heads. 

_ 'Their parents were murdered by bandits…'_

_ 'Their parents were murdered by bandits…'_

_ 'Their parents were murdered by bandits…'_

 "How… dreadful…" Kaoru said, _'Maybe it isn't me… maybe it isn't me…' _

 "Yeah…" Misao agreed with a pale face. 

 "Are you two alright?" Kenshin asked.

 "Go see Seijuro-sensei and admit the truth Misao." Aoshi whispered to Misao before leaving the table silently. Misao lowered her head glumly. Kaoru looked sympathetically at Misao. After all, it must have felt horrible that Aoshi suddenly changed moods at Misao. 

* * * *

Kaoru was waiting inside Misao's room with Aya, Tsubame and Megumi. "Sorry for bothering you…" Kaoru said. Tsubame just smiled and Megumi shrugged. Aya knelt on the floor with her hands clasped over her lap. 

 "It's alright Akai," Tsubame said. 

 "After all, we always like to help out with whatever," Megumi added. 

Kaoru laughed lightly and then said, "No, my name isn't Akai…" she paused for a bit while Tsubame and Megumi stared at her, their minds slowly working out towards the reason for such a statement. "My name is Kaoru Kamiya." 

 "You?!" Megumi said out loud in awe. "Y-you're the one who Seijuro-sensei and Okina-sensei are looking for!" She then looked at Aya, "You knew this?" 

Aya nodded. "Misao revealed my secret when we were training, but now… I think everything is getting out of hand…" Her eyes held a faraway gleam of disappointment. "I still want to study so I'm doing whatever I can to keep this secret…"

 "Misao?" Tsubame said slightly confused. 

Suddenly, the shouji door opened and Misao entered still with the gloomy aura emitting from her body. "Did someone call my name?" 

 "This is getting weird…" Megumi said, "So, what are you two going to do?" She looked at Misao and Kaoru while silence played its roll. 

 "I-I don't know…" Misao said. "I mean, if it was Mr. and Mrs. Kamiya that have been murdered… I-I don't know what I'd think!" She plopped herself next to Kaoru. "Kao… what do we do?" 

 "We won't do anything." Kaoru said, "I'm not going to give up! If my parents happened to be the victims then I will keep going, there's no looking back!" She stood abruptly and clenched her hands into fists. "Mum and dad would want me to keep going and to keep doing what I believe!" 

 "Kao…" Misao said quietly, she shut her jaw and paused for a moment before nodding in agreement and forcing a smile. "You're right! We've gone this far and we should go all the way! Mr. and Mrs. Kamiya wouldn't want us to be grieving all over… Kaoru, let's continue for them!" 

Kaoru nodded once, "Right!" 

 "We can help," Tsubame said. "We can help cover up for you girls when you get to one of those close calls." She placed a hand on Aya's shoulder, "You'll be able to keep your promise for much, much longer!"

Aya smiled from ear to ear. "Right!" 

 "And I'll make sure that I'll try to ease off the rumours…" Megumi said while winking. She giggled and said with a mischievous tone, "I'll sure get that loud mouth Rooster-head for eavesdropping…" 

 "Er…" The four other girls looked at Megumi unsurely. 

* * * *

 "_The blossoms of today draw strength from roots of a thousand years old."_

* * * *

AN: Hello! Hope the wait wasn't too long! I've just had a minor operation on my right eyelid lately so I've been out of it… Hehe… now I've got a patch over my right eye… I look funny… #-^x Anyway, hope you guys liked it and the little quote at the end… ah… I just wanted to put it there. And I've recently realized that I'm going a bit off track about the transformation from Kenshin to Battousai… oh well, I'll go back to that next chappy… 

**Califpinay3001: #**o^x ~~ lol~~~        #-^xV Thanks for r/r!

**Satora**** Bona: Yep! Good on you! Glad that you liked the chapter. #o^x**

**Silver Knight 7: **Updated as soon as I could!

**Darkgirl**** 12: Yep, I'm definitely going to put Ao/Mis romance later in this fic, it'll be a while though…**

**Kik****-ting: Lol. I'm happy that you liked that chapter! #o^x**

**Purple Flower: **Updated as soon as I could, sorry for the wait, I had been pretty busy with my medical problems. #.^x

**Ixchen****: Yay! You found it funny? *It's hard to write something that would make another person  laugh* #o^x V**

**MP: **Yeah… she blew her cover as well as Kaoru's… now Aoshi knows… Well, you gotta find out what happens next! #-^x 

**The Sacred Night: **Aya will be playing a bigger role as the fic goes on so you'll find out a more about her. 

Thanks everyone! Until next time…

~Cherry Chibi #o^x ß *I think I like having a patch over my right eye… lol*


	8. Chapter Eight

**Disclaimer:** I no own Rurouni Kenshin…

Hidden in Study – Chapter 8 – By Cherry Chibi

Laughter roared through the corridors and groups had quickly crowded around the posts of the building. Kaoru and Misao heard Megumi's calling card – her flirtatious tone and her laugh. They searched the odd scenario and couldn't make out any one of their close friends in the chaotic area. 

 "What do you think is happening?" Misao had to raise her voice so that Kaoru could hear over the roaring laughter and comments. Her face was blank for a while until her blue eyes lighted up in the usual way when she had gotten ideas or even worked out something. "Do you think Megumi plotted something against Rooster-head?" 

 "Sano?" Kaoru looked thoughtful for a moment, "I think so." The two brushed passed the mob and through the setting cement of people towards one of  the posts. When their eyes had set upon what from faraway looked like an innocent piece of paper, up close was actually a very guilty picture of Sanosuke. "Oh no."

A picture of Sanosuke of when he was only a toddler showed him wearing a pink kimono. Megumi rushed over to them laughing. "How that huh? Isn't it the perfect way to stop the rumours for a while?" Misao and Kaoru stared at the image and both didn't find it a bit funny at all. Well, maybe a bit amusing. However, it was clear that when Sanosuke finds out, he was going to…

 "WHAT THE HELL?!" The crowd cleared and the tall teenaged boy stood staring wide eyed at the image. He dropped a wrapped box onto the ground and stormed over to Megumi with the sense of betrayal in his eyes. "Where did you get that?!" His tone was deathly cold.

Megumi laughed a bit, "Oh my. Looks like you're a bit tense." She soon felt the funny vibes being emitted from Kaoru and Misao and then pulled herself down to seriousness and stared at Sanosuke in the eyes. The crowd had cleared and only the four; Kaoru, Misao, Megumi and Sanosuke, remained. 

 "You're a deceitful person, Megumi." Sanosuke said harshly. He didn't give any time for Megumi to reply at all before he walked away cold. 

 "I…" The doctor child didn't know what to say or do at that moment. She turned around to Kaoru and Misao who looked at her with pity. 

 "I think you went a bit too far this time Megumi." Kaoru said quietly. Misao picked up the wrapped box that Sanosuke had dropped earlier. She rushed over to Kaoru and showed her a piece of parchment connected to it. A frown formed on everyone's lips. "By the looks of this, you really did hurt him Megumi." 

 "I didn't know," Megumi said as she rushed towards the post and ripped off the copied image of Sanosuke. "I didn't really mean it to go that way," She paused for a moment, "I'll have to make it up to him!"

 "Chee, you really are sorry are you?" Misao said sarcastically. It didn't even look like Megumi actually took the matter to heart. Kaoru elbowed Misao in the side causing her to jump a little. "What?"

 "Megumi is serious about it. She's just a straightforward kind of girl at these matters." Kaoru said in a low hiss. She looked up at Megumi, "So what are you going to do?" Megumi was silent for awhile. Her chocolate eyes looked distant for a bit and they didn't sparkle with mischief as they normally did. 

 "I'll think of something." 

* * * *

Kaoru held her sword over her shoulder and walked along with Kenshin to training. Kenshin was unusually silent. He had been for a long while. Maybe there was something wrong about the sudden unusual training session that had been relocated to the gardens. "Is there something wrong Kenshin?" Kaoru asked carefully.

Kenshin turned to Kaoru with a broad smile. "No. Nothing." Even though his smile was broad, it wasn't as sincere as it used to be. She felt a small smear of anger in her heart. In the corner of her eye she saw his troubled look and knew that he was in one of his personal disputes.

A flash of amber traveled across his lavender pools, after blinking a couple of times, the amber flickered past again and grew stronger, brighter. _'This is no longer a joke, the last time I saw amber, I had thought it was a trick of the light but now, now it's getting scary.' _Kaoru thought and suddenly Kenshin's feet pushed against the gravel ground to a halt. "What's wrong?" A metallic ring filled followed by a leap. The moonlight glowed on the tip of Kenshin's blade. Kaoru's eyes widened and she quickly reacted by unsheathing her sword Battou-jutsu style and blocked Kenshin's attack. "What's wrong with you?!" 

His eyes were full on amber. His strength multiplied, forcing Kaoru to push harder or else her head would be split into two. Fear struck her sapphire depths and her heart throbbed in confusion's agony. 

 "Tell me who you really are." Kenshin's voice deepened to a low tone, completely opposite to his normal cheerful voice. His blade pushed Kaoru's down and inch away from her head. 

 "Kenshin! Have you gone crazy?" Kaoru questioned. He was so strong. Much stronger than before and look of his expression held the essence of murder. He didn't respond to his name nor did he respond to Kaoru's white complexion. 

_ 'Stop it! What are you doing?!' _A voice in Kenshin's head shouted. _'You're going to kill Akai if you keep going like that!' _A lavender hue circled his iris. _'I don't want Akai to be hurt!' _

 "Shut up." The amber eyed teenage boy said. **_'You have been so dense that it sickens me to think that you would become the successor of Hiten Mitsuruugi Ryuu, a technique that is so powerful.' _**Kaoru pushed his attack away finally with a high ring, he leapt and landed before charging again for another attack. 

When swords clashed, their faces were inches apart. **_'You can see in Akai's eyes that 'he' doesn't belong here. In fact, I should say 'she'.' _**

Another voice in his head was in disbelief. _'You're making futile claims! Who are you anyway?! You've been in my head like a monster all these years!' _

**_ 'I am Battousai and I am no monster, rather, I am the smarter and better side of you.' _**

 "Kenshin! Stop it!" Kaoru fought off another attack and held her guard up. "Whatever is going through your head, it must really be bothering you, so why don't you just spit it out! You're taking out your frustration on me!" Anger grew as well as worry. By the looks of him, he was taking it seriously and it was almost as if he was trying to kill her. After all, they are fighting with real swords. 

 "Fine." His deep mature voice said, he sheathed his sword. Battousai had pulled his other half and locked Kenshin into the darkness of his mind. _'Kenshin won't know anything.' _He approached Kaoru with a sneer. "Stop calling me 'Kenshin'. It's Battousai." 

 "Battousai?" Kaoru picked up her sheath and covered her sword. Battousai nodded. _'The change of colour in his eyes must be a signal showing his personality change… but that is so scary. Battousai must be the much more aggressive half. Oh, I wish Kenshin wasn't like that! I had suspicions before about this but it was true!' _Kaoru wasn't sure what to say next. "We're going to be late to our training session." She said finally. 

 "There is no training session." Battousai said, "I wanted to get you out here alone. Let me say this, I know that you aren't the person you claim to be Akai and you've been like that for so many years. However, my other stupid half doesn't know." 

 "Um… so… why did you want to get me out here alone?" Kaoru asked. 

 "Because I just wanted to talk to 'Kaoru' here." Battousai said while taking sitting on the lush green grass. Kaoru followed and sat opposite of Battousai. 

 "How did you know my name?" Kaoru asked slowly. 

 "Remember your little parcel?" Battousai said. "I still remember. Unlike Kenshin." It was getting dark but his amber orbs glowed through the dark which made Kaoru's blood run faster. "I apologize for being so abrupt before, it was to get the other's attention." 

Kaoru didn't really understand but she nodded anyway. 

 "Kaoru, would you make a promise to me?" Battousai questioned. 

 "To you as in 'Battousai' you or to 'Kenshin' and you?" Kaoru asked, it was beginning to get amusing as well as confusing. She felt light headed from trying to figure out the situation. 

 "To 'Battousai' me." Battousai said. Kaoru nodded with reassurance. "Will you promise me that you will not go against me? I mean no ill will to anyone." He said with a glimpse of softness. "The others who know about me are treating me as if I was a dangerous being. I hate that." 

A minute of silence passed before Kaoru got the point and smiled warmly. "Of course. I promise. I wouldn't go against you anyway. Since you are part of Kenshin." 

* * * *

**AN: **Tada! Battousai has fully appeared! (and I have finally updated) Thanks for your support! No reviewer's corner today… (Cherry too tired…)

Well, I'll try to update again soon, until next time (and good night…),

Cherry Chibi. 


	9. Chapter Nine

**Disclaimer:** I no own Rurouni Kenshin…

Hidden in Study – Chapter 9 – By Cherry Chibi

_ "To 'Battousai' me." Battousai said. Kaoru nodded with reassurance. "Will you promise me that you will not go against me? I mean no ill will to anyone." He said with a glimpse of softness. "The others who know about me are treating me as if I was a dangerous being. I hate that." _

_A minute of silence passed before Kaoru got the point and smiled warmly. "Of course. I promise. I wouldn't go against you anyway. Since you are part of Kenshin." _

* * * *

Kenshin woke up with a throbbing, burning head. He glanced across the room and saw Kaoru sleeping comfortably. _'What happened to me? I felt so much strength...' _The horizon outside of the room's window was slowly being lit from the rising sun. He tried to recall the night's events but everything had blackened after 'Battousai' had introduced himself. _'This is no longer my imagination, I must ask Master for advice later on.' _

* * * *

Misao wandered along the garden path feeling a little lonely. It was really early in the morning and the school had silenced since many students had left earlier than usual for their school holidays. She sighed. _'A scholar's life can't possibly be fun... what had Kaoru and I been thinking? A festival is coming in the village and because of the fact I'm a part time scholar, I have to remain here unless I get permission which would really be stupid because this night festival is mainly what girls would love to attend...' _

She sighed. Usually she would walk with Aoshi in the mornings but times were changing as well as the people. Aoshi was probably in the library somewhere doing some background reading on who-knows-what. 

"Morning Taka!" 

Misao's eyes lightened up at the sight of Saitoh and his younger sister. "Morning Matsu, morning Saitoh!" Saitoh smiled weakly, it was clear that he really was in a slight fouled mood. Aya was unusually cheery this morning.

"Guess what Taka? I get to go to the festival tonight!" Aya said with a broad smile, "Saitoh is going to take me, Okina-sensei said that as long as we kept out of trouble we can go!" Misao groaned mourning halfway. 

"You are so lucky..." Misao mumbled. 

Aya just smiled thoughtfully and Saitoh behind her kept a eerie aura around him. It was obviously a pain for a guy like him to have to deal with a little sister who was so fortunate that couldn't be hit across the head. "Don't worry Taka, I'm sure if you get Aoshi to go..." 

"Why would Taka want Aoshi to go with him?" Saitoh questioned with a cocked eyebrow. Aya and Misao eyed each other for a moment and Aya bit her lower lip. 

"Because, I thought that we all had to go at least in pairs." Aya said quickly, "Um... after all, Aoshi does need some fresh air." The poor girl was struggling for lines since her older brother knew that she was such a bad liar.

"Don't worry, it's just a little innocent question." Misao said to help Aya. "I've probably got too much to study for over these holidays to probably do anything." Even though she said one thing, the back of her head was thinking differently. _'Hm... I am a girl... and I can always disguise myself... Kaoru and I can go! We just have to ask Megumi and Tsubame for help.' _

* * * *

Soujiro and Sanosuke walked through the awkward building. The silence was really bothering them. It was almost like if a pin had dropped from one end of the school, the other end would hear it and if someone had spoke a single word at normal tone the school would explode. 

 "Where did everyone go?" Sano finally spoke, his voice very close to a whisper. He ruffled his spiked hair. "It's almost as if this place had turned into abandoned building." He knew that it was school holidays and that most of the students would have gone home but there were also students who never went home.

 "Aoshi is in the library." Soujiro said, "Kenshin said something about how he had to talk to Seijuro-sensei, Saitoh and Matsu had gone into town for something, Taka has disappeared to who knows where and Akai, well, I think he's gone with Megumi and Tsubame about some important meeting." Soujiro then noticed Sano's face cringe angrily as soon as Megumi's name was mentioned. "You're still mad?"

 "Why shouldn't I be? Because of her I'm officially like…" He stopped his tongue at that moment. _'It's just typical of Fox-girl to humiliate me. But this time she went too far.' _The thing that made things worse was the fact that he didn't know what to do – it just unfortunately came with his personality, which he wants to improve on. 

"Chee, you really are holding a grudge against her." Soujiro said with a meaningless smile, "Why aren't you just letting it go? She's just a girl." Sano was exasperated about how light hearted Soujiro could be at such things. 'Come on!' He wanted to shout at Soujiro, 'My dignity! Hey! How would you feel?!' 

But instead he just sneered. "Just a girl eh?" 

* * * *

"Seijuro-sensei!" Kenshin shouted. Talking to his master was becoming harder by the day and now it seemed that the man wasn't even going to answer him. "Master! You can't just shrug it off! What if I kill someone?!" Hiko's back was faced against him and he was getting infuriated by the moment. 

"Just concentrate on your training." Hiko said coolly, "You will go far. Right now, this Battousai business doesn't matter at all." Kenshin couldn't believe what his master was telling him. He was a young kid standing his ground with some sort of monster inside him, things like that don't happen everyday and should be taken seriously. But Hiko was just going to ignore it. 

**'You heard him, concentrate on your training.' **Battousai said in Kenshin mind. **'What is there to worry about me? Do you fear me?' **Once again, Battousai began his tormenting and mental abuse. 

'I don't fear you! I'm only concerned about my friends' and peoples' safety.' Kenshin snapped back in his mind. He wasn't sure how to battle the Battousai in his mind. It was a cage he couldn't escape. Deep inside, he knew that there was no way to relinquish Battousai because somehow the being had fomed part of his soul. 

**'You do fear me. Don't forget that I'm stronger than you. I'm smarter. I can hear your thoughts crystal clear and you think that you can run fom me. Ha! Just wait until the day you and I will become one.' **At that moment, Kenshin's heart raced. Become one? Meaning that Battousai was going to take over his body? What harm will come over? What will happen to everyone? What would happen to him? **'Don't worry Kenshin, you won't feel any different. You'll just be a mere conscience.'**

'Quit your torments!' Kenshin's eyes swirled with lavender and golden amber. 'I don't want to be like you in any way! Carrying a sword and living by it. No! I much prefer my studies and only defending people with my sword if need be.' He hadn't realised that Hiko had glanced over his shoulder to check his student. 

_'This boy... he will grow up to be a strong man.' _Hiko thought, _'Even if he battles with himself, eventually it will sort out.' _

**'You're going to need to take a break.' **Suddenly, Kenshin had faded into the darkness of the back of the mind and Battousai emerged, grateful for seeing daylight. His amber eyes containing this mist of superiority. A stern look on his young face. 

"Kenshin, you're dismissed." Hiko said in a low tone. 

Battousai bowed. "Yes Master." Then he left the room without another word. _'It's so boring listening to that baka's thoughts. I better get my way round and have fun with the time I have now.' _He strolled coolly through the quiet school. _'Hm... Kaoru should be around the dorms somewhere. I can probably ask her if there's going to be anything interesting happening.'_

* * * *

Megumi knelt beside Aya, Misao and Kaoru with a small smile. They waited as Tsubame carefully did her final adjustments to her clothing. Shyly, Tsubame stepped faced the other girls in a baby blue white floral patterned yukata with white hems and a matching white sash. She blushed a light shade of pink. "What do you think?" She asked in her soft innocent voice. She waited nervously for her friends' replies. 

 "You look so cute!" Misao said with a proud look, "I bet that Yahiko would surely turn his eye on you!" Everyone watched as Tsubame blushed a darker shade before laughing. "Only joking!" However, Misao's extra words seemed to have cause Tsubame to blush an even darker colour. 

 "But on a serious note, it really suits you Tsubame." Aya said a moment later she gasped. "Oh no! I'm supposed to meet Soujiro really soon!" She pounced onto her feet only to be pulled down again by Kaoru. 

 "Wait a moment! You have to try the yukata that Megumi had went through a lot of trouble to get." Kaoru said, "Just put it on quickly and then you can go! Please?!" Silence fell upon them before Aya shook her head. 

 "I'm serious! I have to go and meet him! He wanted to tell me something important!" Aya was taken aback when she saw the mischievous sparkle in Megumi's eyes. _'Maybe that wasn't a very good idea to say that…' _

 "Aa… maybe Sou-chan is going to admit his feelings for you!" Megumi teased. Aya's blue eyes flashed sparkled angrily with silver. 

 "Will you just cut that out? It's not a laughing matter. I can always try the yukata on later but now, I have to go and talk to Soujiro AND girls shouldn't start dating guys at the age of thirteen!" Not willing to waste another moment, Aya pulled herself up and rushed out of the room, on the way she called, "I'll see you girls later!" 

 "I sometimes wonder why she always seems to be worried about Soujiro." Misao said a moment later, "Do you think there is something wrong?" The other girls looked puzzled except for Kaoru. 

 "I'm sure that Aya is capable. Whatever problem there is, she can handle it." Kaoru said, "But for now, Misao! It's your turn to try your yukata!" Misao froze to stone. "Misao? You alright?"

 "M-me? Try on THAT yukata?!" Misao then pointed to the light green yukata with colourful embroidery flying on the material, it also had a When Megumi gave her a nod of reassurance she turned and looked at it for a moment, stammering and then gulping. "I don't wear yukatas." She stated carefully. "Especially ones that are like that one." 

 "Why not?" Tsubame asked, "It is a very nice one." 

 "Yeah…" Megumi smiled deviously, "Oh… I forgot… are you scared that you might attract some sort of attention from the crowd?" Misao hesitantly shifted. "Or have you forgotten how to wear one?" 

 "I haven't forgotten how to wear one, thank you!" Misao shouted at her defence. Megumi always liked to tease everyone and it made her embarrassed sometimes due to the fact that Megumi usually gets the right spot. 

 "Oh, that's alright then." Kaoru said calmly before she and Megumi cracked broad grins. "We'll help you!" Tsubame backed away from the huge struggle as Misao yelped and cried for help. 

 "Um… you shouldn't go that… you might attract some attention from the other people." Tsubame said hesitantly. 

Later, Misao was finally forced into the yukata and she kept shifting uncomfortably. "You two are so mean." She mumbled. However, the other girls were admiring at how much the yukata suited her. 

 "That looks cool…" Kaoru said. She then turned to Tsubame and Megumi, "You two really have good taste in yukatas." Tsubame blushed with a cute smile and Megumi nodded with agreement. 

 "Alright! Now is your turn!" Misao pouted. "Come on Kao-chan! Hurry up! Here!" A lavender yukata with splashes of white cherry blossoms on them was pushed into Kaoru's hands, followed by a darker shade of lavender sash. 

* * * * 

Battousai heard the excited chatter coming from the girls' room as well as the quiet words being spoken by Kaoru. _'Maybe this wouldn't be the right time to talk to her.' _It wasn't really important what he wanted to say anyway. While he was making his way here, he had overheard the servants talk about the festival in town that was going to be occurring that night so he had the thought of may be going. 

Just as he turned at the heel, the shouji door opened and Kaoru stumbled out in her yukata. "That was really evil!" The thirteen year old exclaimed. A spark shocked through the air from Battousai to Kaoru and silent eye contact melded into place. "Ah… hi, Battousai." Kaoru said, blushing pink. "Um, can you please excuse me for a moment?" 

 "Sure." Battousai replied. _'By the looks of it, she is going to the festival.'_ After a few moments, Kaoru had stepped out of the room wearing her usual boy clothing and her shoulder length hair tied into a high bun – a completely different image from what he had seen before. 

_ 'So, Kenshin is not around now.' _Kaoru thought as she approached Battousai. "What is it? Something wrong?" She had expected something serious but in fact, she was proven wrong. 

 "No, I was just going to ask if you were going to attend the village's festival." Battousai said. 

 "Of course! It's not very often that these things happen." Kaoru said joyfully. "Are you going?" When Battousai hesitantly nodded she thought that she was going to jump and skip, "That's great! Matsu and Saitoh are going to! Megumi, Tsubame and Taka are also going to go! Maybe the who group can so it'll be heaps of fun!" She noticed a glimmer in Battousai's eyes and dropped her smile. "Oh, it's about that Battousai is dangerous thing right? Just who knows about that?"

 "The guys." Battousai replied, "We don't really talk to each other anymore. Except, Sanosuke. He seems to be alright with it." 

 "Oh." Kaoru felt sympathetic for the guy. It must be hard having to deal with the fact that you might lose your friends because something's changed about you. Time ticked for a while before Kaoru lit up again. "How about this, if the other guys are coming, then us two, and maybe anyone who is willing to, can go our own separate route?" 

Battousai cocked an eyebrow, "But wouldn't you prefer to hang around with the girls?" 

 "Are you saying that I can't have fun even when I'm hanging around with you?" Kaoru said, "Don't worry about it. You've been my roommate for a while and I like your company too, the others also have each other." 

It was that attitude that Battousai had admired about Kaoru. The fact that she was able to light up any dark situation and doing it in a way that was completely self-less. "OK. Tell me when do we have to get going." 

 "Around after dinner." 

* * * *

**AN: **Hey everyone! I've finally updated! As usual, I'm grateful for your reviews! Thank you everyone! BTW, if you have any ideas for what could happen in the next chapter, just say so in the review. 

**Kitsune Kenshin: **Catch Me If You Can hasn't been permanently deleted but it is under serious editing and would probably take a while to be reposted. I had a huge writers block on it so I'm working on the plot of it and everything. However, I think I might post it up again sometime. 

**Kik****-ting: **Yes. Kenshin didn't know that he was talking to a girl since Battousai had managed to shut him out. And about Kenshin's reaction if Kaoru's secret is revealed… I haven't really decided upon that yet. You'll just have to wait and see. ^-^x

**The Evil Witch: **Um… -.-; This may seem really stupid but can you give me the definition of fluff? Even though I've been writing for a while now, I still don't get the meanings of things like WAFF and TAFF or something like that. If you can tell me, I'll be really grateful. ^-^x

**SilverKnight7: **Hope you liked this chappy. ^-^x

Thanks everyone and hope to see you soon! Until next time!

Cherry Chibi.


	10. Chapter Ten

**Disclaimer:** I no own Rurouni Kenshin…

Hidden in Study – Chapter 10 – By Cherry Chibi

_It was that attitude that Battousai had admired about Kaoru. The fact that she was able to light up any dark situation and doing it in a way that was completely self-less. "OK. Tell me when do we have to get going." _

_ "Around after dinner." _

* * * *

The girls snuck out of the school building through the back. They had taken the time to prepare each other's hair as well as little bits and pieces such as money. However, they could feel the anticipation of a wonderful night. They could hear the distant cheery calls from the village. Lanterns lit paths and every building had been decorated colourfully. Food scented the air delicately. 

 "Wow, it's been ages since I've gone to one of these…" Misao said while swallowing the happy images. Tsubame nodded with agreement and Kaoru smiled. 

 "I wonder what stalls are open…" Megumi said, "Let's have a look around!" Excitedly, she hurried away with Tsubame following. Misao was about to run after them but had to stop since there was one person who wasn't particularly 'awake'. "Kao-chan! Let's go!" 

 "You go ahead. I'm waiting for someone." Kaoru said, she sat on a boulder that was on the side of the road. "Don't worry about me." She smiled assuring Misao that she was being totally sincere. 

 "Alright, but if something goes wrong… scream alright?" Misao said with a hint of humour. Kaoru laughed lightly with Misao. "Alright, see you later!" Kaoru then watched Misao vanish from sight through the crowds. She was seated in the shadows so she wouldn't be immediately noticeable. _'I hope that he won't be too late…'_

 "Evening." A formal voice said calmly. 

 "Evening!" Kaoru stood, "Gosh, you look cute." Battousai wore a white hakama accompanied by a dark blue gi. A moment of silence passed until Battousai finally spoke. 

 "Shall we?" 

 "Yeah, let's get going." Kaoru walked beside Battousai towards the village. "By the way, do you have to be so formal in your speech?" 

 "Is there a problem with it?" Battousai questioned with a small grin. 

 "Ah, no. It's just that it makes you seem a little too mature. I'm not saying it's a bad thing." Kaoru replied. She held her small lavender material pouch bag in front of her while walking. In her head she thought of things that she could do while Battousai can also enjoy himself. _'If he's so serious, who knows what he likes.' _

 "I see." 

* * * *

Megumi, Misao and Tsubame were admiring the beautifully made objects. "Wow, check out this ribbon!" Megumi exclaimed. An indigo velvet ribbon was sitting on the shelf of a hair accessory stall. "But it is so expensive." 

 "I know. But it really is a high quality material." Misao said. She really wasn't interested in ribbons or barrettes or any of that sort. She liked to look but didn't necessarily wanted anything. She turned to Tsubame, "See anything you like?" Tsubame was quiet for a moment. _'I can't believe how shy she can be.'_ Misao thought. 

 "Well," Tsubame said hesitantly, "I like that one." She pointed to a black barrette that had three small white flowers connected on the flat side. "It reminds me of my old home that was in the country." 

 "That is so sweet." Megumi said with a smile. "How much is it?" 

 "No really, it's alright." Tsubame said quickly, she didn't want to cause trouble. 

 "Whoa, it's a lot of money…" Misao stated after taking a glance at the price. "Are you sure you'll be able to pay for it?" The girls had split the money between them and they didn't have a lot to spend but enough to buy nice things. 

Tsubame looked urgently at Megumi. "Megumi, it's alright, I don't want…" 

 "No, no, no, imagine it as an early birthday present." Megumi said while taking out her purse that had been tucked into her red sash. Her mouth opened to call the stall owner but she was a moment too late. 

 "Excuse me sir, can I please buy the barrette with the three white flowers?" 

 "Of course young man. That'll be 350 yen." 

 "Thank you." 

 "Oh darn," Megumi frowned, "Someone bought it before us." She looked disappointed as she tucked the purse behind the sash of her yukata. "What tough luck." She had wanted to buy it for Tsubame since the girl was really far from home and coming across things that brings a smile and warm memories to Tsubame's face was really hard. 

 "Doesn't matter, maybe there's something else we could find." Misao said, "Come on, why don't we have a look at another stall?" She placed a hand on Megumi and Tsubame's shoulder and led them towards the next one. 

 "Tsubame!" 

The trio halted in their steps. Tsubame looked up and smiled. "Yahiko! Nice to see you." She greeted him followed by Misao and Megumi. "How have you been so far tonight?" 

 "Great. Hey, I just thought that I'd give you something as a gift for today." Yahiko said without a sign of embarrassment. "I'd think you'll like it." He held out an object wrapped in a red cloth. Tsubame blushed and accepted it. 

Slowly, she unfolded the red material and gasped. Misao's and Megumi's surprised eyes gawked at Yahiko who stood proud. "Thank you Yahiko! Thank you so much! I love it!" Tsubame held the gift in her hands warmly. "But it must have cost a lot though." 

 "Don't worry about it." Yahiko said, "It's a celebrative night, you should enjoy it. See you later!" Yahiko then weaved out of sight through the crowd. 

 "Well what do you know?" Megumi said with a devious smile, "Who would've thought that Yahiko would get that for you? Go on! Wear it!" Poor Tsubame blushed a darker colour. 

 "Wear it!" Misao said, "It'll look really pretty!" She took the barrette from Tsubame's hands and handed it to Megumi who tucked the barrette into Tsubame's brown hair. The three white blossoms sparkled with melody. 

 "There we go," Megumi said. "How do you feel?" 

 "Tonight has been the best night ever." Tsubame said, "It's almost like that I'm back at my old home." Her face lit up brightly and her smile could've warmed anyone's heart. 

"Oh, look at who's here." Megumi said with an element of surprise. The girls followed the direction of her gaze and spotted Soujiro, Sanosuke, Saitoh, Aya and Aoshi. The group of guys stopped nearby them. Sanosuke wore a small frown at the sight of Megumi.

"Evening!" Aya greeted them with a broad smile. 

"Hi guys!" Misao said, "Hey, Aoshi, I wouldn't have thought that you'd show up." Suddenly, a silence took over the guys. 

"Aoshi, you know this girl?" Soujiro questioned. 

Aoshi said nothing but eyed Misao with an eerie aura that would've usually caused Misao to back away or glance elsewhere but not tonight. She crossed her arms tilted her head to one side and stared back at Aoshi with a hint of defiance. 

The others felt that there was some form of communication happening and were curious to know what it was. "Hey! Aoshi? You know this girl or what?" Soujiro asked again. Aoshi gave a slight nod.

 "Yeah." 

 "Well, aren't you going to be polite and…" 

 "She's a… friend." Aoshi stated. "Name's Misao." 

 "Oh…" Suddenly, Soujiro placed a hand on Aoshi's shoulder, "So she's your GIRLfriend?" 

 "What?!" 

Everyone in the group reacted in all sorts of ways and hadn't realised that Megumi and Sanosuke had moved away from the group with seriousness. "I can't believe that you would have the guts to even show your face." Sanosuke said in a mutter.

 "Why don't you grow up?" Megumi barked back, "What's done is done and I didn't know what it would cause k?" She dug her hand into her bag, in doing so the sleeve of her yukata lifted revealing a violet beaded bracelet. 

 "You're wearing it…" Sanosuke said. 

 "Hm?" Megumi glanced at the bracelet, "Of course. A Rooster-head like you spent time to get it for me so I thought that I should wear it for an event like this." She took out an object that was folded neatly into a small pile. "Here." She placed it in his open palm. "I thought that I should return the favour as well as say sorry." 

A small smile stretched on Sano's face. "Apology accepted. Thanks Fox-girl." 

 "Oh shut up!" 

* * * *

AN: Another chapter! ^-^ Shorter than the other but still. I couldn't keep all of you waiting too long. No reviewers corners, no time nowadays. However, let me thank you all for them!!!


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Disclaimer: **I no own Rurouni Kenshin…

Hidden in Study – Chapter 11 – By Cherry Chibi

_"Hm?" Megumi glanced at the bracelet, "Of course. A Rooster-head like you spent time to get it for me so I thought that I should wear it for an event like this." She took out an object that was folded neatly into a small pile. "Here." She placed it in his open palm. "I thought that I should return the favour as well as say sorry." _

_A small smile stretched on Sano's face. "Apology accepted. Thanks Fox-girl." _

_ "Oh shut up!" _

* * * * 

Kaoru and Battousai had taken a long walk through the festivities admiring the decorations and lanterns. They had been having a good time talking that they didn't realise that they were more into their conversations rather than the festival. Kaoru smiled broadly as she learned more about Battousai, Kenshin's other half. The lavender bag clasped in her hands swayed left and right as she walked. 

 "Are you getting tired?" Battousai suddenly questioned. Kaoru was back to alert mode. She shook her head. 

 "No, I'm not tired. Why do you ask?" Kaoru bit back a laugh thinking that her speech was becoming formal due to the influence from Battousai. Her insides felt warmed when Battousai smiled. 

 "Because you have a dreamy look on your face." He replied gently. "I was beginning to think that maybe you weren't interested and so…"

 "Now why wouldn't I be interested? I'm just happy that you're opening up that's all." Kaoru answered truthfully. "From what you've been through, I can tell that some of the others really are changing their attitude towards you but I don't see what there is to fear." She brushed away a stray lock of hair that had been bothering her for the passed few minutes. "I think that you're just a bit more mature about things, as well as a bit more stronger." 

Battousai smiled inwardly. She was probably the only person who he was able to approach without feeling that the other was intimidated or even slightly untrusting towards him. Kaoru was completely genuine. They came to a stop when Kaoru ceased walking. 

 "Sorry, but my ribbon isn't tight enough and my hair is getting in my face. I don't know how Megumi can handle having her hair down all the time…" Kaoru reached up to redo the indigo ribbon. 

 "Here, let me help." Battousai took hold of the soft material ribbon and tightened it for Kaoru. "How's that?" Hiding her blush, Kaoru nodded and said thanks. 

* * * *

 "Oh look, Aoshi is turning a bit pink…" Soujiro grinned ear to ear. It was a rare chance to be able to pick on the icy kid. But it was even more rare to make him blush. "Come on, did you set all this up today? I know that you wouldn't come…"

Tsubame and Megumi had seen Misao's face darken as the joking went on and it was reaching the stages where it wasn't funny, they could tell that Misao was getting upset over it. After all, who wouldn't? Your friends are carrying on and on about something that you're not even sure about and you can't do a thing because it would encourage them to continue.

 "That's enough!" Misao blurted suddenly. Her face was beet red from hearing the teasing. "Aoshi is NOT my boyfriend. He doesn't even LIKE me. You know what? He isn't even my FRIEND. We just know each other because it is compulsory." With that she ran. 

 "Hey! We were only joking!" Soujiro shouted after Misao seriously. "Chee… maybe I got over a bit." 

 "You did." Megumi confirmed with a firm tone. 

 "Maybe we should find her…" Tsubame said. 

 "No, leave her alone, she needs to cool down." Sanosuke said while stretching. "What do you think Aoshi?" Sano turned his head over to thin air. "HEY! Where did he go?"

* * * *

Panting, huffing and puffing. Misao leaned against the wall feeling dizzy and light headed. _'I can't believe I said those things… ugh! I hate myself! Why didn't I think about it first before cutting in like that?! I'm so stupid!' _ She had sprinted from the group as quick as she could because the instant shame from those things she said had clouded her sight. 

It was a sickening feeling.

The guilt was overwhelming.

But the feeling of concern and the need of forgiveness from Aoshi were far worse. 

 'I couldn't even look at him in the eye. If he feels the way I think he does, I won't be able to lift my head up to face the world ever again!' 

Almost as if on cue, sounds of notes flew in the air towards her. She heard the music tweeting in her ears and was drawn to the melody of a certain wind instrument. Catching her breath, she stepped around from the corner and found a girl in a white yukata sitting in front of a house playing with a wooden flute-like instrument. 

 "Nee-san!" A boy rushed out of the house to greet the girl. "Nee-san! Father is calling!" 

 "Just a moment," Without warning, Misao was soon face to face with the stranger. Her dark eyes were warmly staring into Misao's aqua jaded eyes. "You look familiar, do you know a boy named Akira at the school down at the end of town?"

 "Um… yes."

 "I thought you would! I've seen you around there." The girl laughed and then handed to Misao an envelope. "Here, this is for Akira. Tell him that it's from Tomoe Yukishiro." Misao was utterly surprised by Tomoe's sudden approach but she accepted the envelope. "I'm leaving tonight to go back to my home town so I was keeping a look out for anyone who attended Akira's school. I'm sorry for such a surprise but it really is important for me."

 "Okay." Misao barely said. 

Tomoe smiled in gratitude. "Thank you so much! I do hope we meet again someday!" Then she ran towards the house like a flying crane. 

Misao stood there, struck stiff from having to do a small errand for a girl she had just met. _'Well, if it is that important for her… then…' _Misao tucked the envelope into the sleeve of her yukata. _'It won't hurt to just give this to Akira…' _

 "Misao?" 

 "Huh?" She turned around and almost collapsed in double shock. "Aoshi! How-,"

 "I just followed." Aoshi stated calmly. 

 "Why?"

Silence.

 "Didn't you know that it isn't safe for a young girl like you to wander the streets at night?" Aoshi said after a while. "There isn't much else to do now, why don't we go and get something to eat?"

 "Aren't you angry…" 

Aoshi glanced over his shoulder to check that no one else was around before saying, "I know you didn't mean it. So there's no point in worrying." Misao smiled brightly. 

 "Thank you." A moment passed and then Aoshi continued.

 "And… I guess… that… nothing should change between us. We've been friends for a long time and it would be arrogant of me to start treating you differently just because you're a girl." He turned his head away to hide the expression in his eyes that showed how embarrassed he was to even say something that expressive. He felt even more startled when Misao cupped her hands around his arm. 

 "Come on! Don't get so solemn! Tonight was supposed to be fun! Like you said before, there's no point in worry~in~~Ah!" A cat leapt on the top of her head and pounced onto the group. It meowed mischievously before prowling away. Misao stared blankly at it, unsure what to feel; to put it as a joke or feel stupid because she should have been able to sense the thing coming. 

A small chuckle scared her further. She looked up at Aoshi who shone a beautiful honest but small smile and laughed as quietly as he could. 

 "Oh so now you laugh at me?!" Misao looked at him with her pink tinged cheeks. It was good to see him laugh and smile. But it was a shame that it wasn't part of Aoshi's nature to be like that more often. 

 "I'm sorry, it's just that it was funny for you to get worked up… you should have sensed that."

* * * *

The eventful night was coming to an end and Kaoru and Battousai had decided to return home. They entered the schoolyard silently and Kaoru was about to head for the girl dorms to get changed. "Thank you," Battousai said, melding into the comfortable silence. "I had enjoyed tonight."

Kaoru smiled sincerely, "Now why should you be thanking me? I didn't do anything special." Before any other word, any other sound could even be made, or created, Battousai had leaned closer and kissed Kaoru on the cheek. Blushing furiously, she stammered and felt her skin bubble. 

 "I mean it. Thank you for tonight." And then, Battousai's fury amber eyes began to fade slowly towards lavender again. He smiled and turned walked towards the direction where their room was. 

Kaoru touched her burning face and hurried off. It was truly weird. She would have never ever thought that anyone, especially Battousai, would do something like that. She paused on the verandah of the building for a moment and stared slightly dazed into the darkness. But she really didn't mind about the small gesture of care…

I mean it. Thank you for tonight.

* * * *

AN: Thank you everyone for reading! Sorry for the long wait but I'm SOOOOOO surrounded by schoolwork and chores…. (Oh, will the chaos ever end in my life? *sigh*)

Until next time!

Cherry Chibi.


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Disclaimer: **I no own Rurouni Kenshin…

Hidden in Study – Chapter 12 – By Cherry Chibi

_Kaoru touched her burning face and hurried off. It was truly weird. She would have never ever thought that anyone, especially Battousai, would do something like that. She paused on the verandah of the building for a moment and stared slightly dazed into the darkness. But she really didn't mind about the small gesture of care…_

I mean it. Thank you for tonight.

- - - -

Kaoru woke up feeling as fresh as the morning dew. A smile just touched her lips and she trekked through the halls feeling great. Not for any particular reason though. Maybe the night before had somehow relieved all of the tension and stress that had flooded on her shoulders lately. It was time for her to start anew again. A new day. A new week. A new month. Yeah… she was going to be able to start the started of spring refreshed. But there was also something else that was special about this day – it was a very unique day for her dear friend Misao.

Misao first came to Kaoru's family at the start of spring, and on this day, her parents made special sweets just to cheer Misao up. It did work. And since then, every year to celebrate Misao's coming to the family as well as the coming of spring, they made sweets. However, it had been a secret just between the two of them. Suddenly, the thought of it made Kaoru's stomach numb with the memory of her parents. _'This isn't the time to be sad! I have to find Misao and…' _

"Good morning Akai."

"Morning Aoshi!" Kaoru said in a quick response. "What's up?" She eyed Aoshi with a slight amusement, it seemed or it felt that Aoshi had grown taller a bit overnight – she felt like a shrimp standing in front of him.

"Nothing. Seen Taka?" Aoshi questioned, his tone has dull as ever! For Kaoru anyway…

"No, I'm just looking for him myself." Kaoru said, "Anyway, why are you looking for him? Especially after the silent treatment you were giving." She raised an eyebrow, daring him to give her an answer. However, she didn't have to really guess too much, for in his right hand was clutching onto a material wrapped up box like thing… she felt a smile growing on her face. "YOU KNOW?!!!!" She regained composure and stepped closer to Aoshi, "You know? How did you know about Misao's special day?!"

Aoshi stammered and stepped back but the little effort didn't matter since Kaoru just took another step forward. "It's nothing."

"What do you mean it's nothing?" Kaoru questioned. "If it's nothing, what is in your hand then?" She gave Aoshi a mischievous look. "Hm….?"

"Uh." A short but embarrassed sound. He slowly moved the item to hide behind his back slowly. "I said it was nothing." He knew he was just provoking more embarrassment to be caused by Kaoru but there really wasn't anything else he could do. _'At least no one else is around…' _

"I heard quite a commotion…" Sanosuke popped out of nowhere chewing on an end of a fishbone. "So… Aoshi is gonna make a move on that girl from last night?"

_ 'Things can't get any worse…' _Aoshi hands tightened into fists. His timing must have been way off for these kinds of things, he probably should have waited until later in the evening when he and Misao had kempo training.

"What? Serious? So she is Aoshi's girlfriend?" Soujiro stepped out from behind Sanosuke along with Aya and Saitoh. The others looked amused, even Saitoh. Aoshi could feel the world collapsing around him. He was never going to ever do something like this in broad daylight ever again. No way. Not ever.

Kaoru looked onto the situation saying nothing. Poor Aoshi was stuck in one of those moments where he had to talk his way out – not that he had ever spoken much so his chances of getting out are quite slim. Feeling sympathy for the guy Kaoru stepped in. "Nah, he was just talking to me about an errand he had to do for Sekihara-sensei. It seems that spring is a great time to make sweets since the Sakura are blossoming." Kaoru grinned and elbowed Aoshi, "To the Sakura track right? South of the kitchens?"

Aoshi got the hint, "Yes…" Then he casually turned away from the group. "I need to finish this errand as soon as possible." Relieved that he didn't have to deal with the problem any longer, he walked towards the Sakura track.

"Hey! Don't forget that we have lessons today so don't be late!" Aya called, "Tell Taka that too if you see him!"

"Well, I better see if I can find Kenshin." Kaoru said, "He hasn't been seen all morning!"

- - - -

His head felt like a boulder sitting on a tree branch. How was it that he would wake up only to realise that he had been out of it for one whole day? Not to mention that he had missed a festival outing with his friends. '_Battousai… what are you doing to me?_' He questioned furiously. _'How did you appear so suddenly? What did I do?'_ Kenshin was getting more and more confused by the passing time as it all went on.

** 'I'm just what you want to be you fool. You wanted to be strong so here I am.' **Battousai taunted in his head. **'It's such a shame that we don't get along very well do we?' **The taunting cold voice was there now, everyday, it was in his head; answering his questions, criticizing him and anything just to speak!

_ 'Can't you ever shut up?!' _Came Kenshin's sharp interjection. _'I don't want to be like you! I've told you already! Why don't you leave me alone?! There's nothing in this peaceful world that you need!' _

** 'You're very wrong. There is someone who I'm going to exist for. My purpose has become clear.' **The seriousness in Battousai's tone brought fear to Kenshin's eyes. **'Out of all your friends who had found out about me, only one has remained true… and it is this person who I'm going to protect.' **A deafening calm clouded Kenshin's mind. He wasn't sure whether he was going to believe what Battousai said or not. Perspiration was forming a slim coating over his forehead.

"Kenshin! There you are! What are you doing outside of the school grounds? We have lessons today."

He looked up and smiled. "Hello Akai." Kaoru came and stopped with a frown on her face when she saw the pale colour of Kenshin's skin.

"What's the matter? You don't look very well." She crossed her arms, "Did something happen?"

"My head is just throbbing." He replied. "I probably just need to see Dr. Takani and I'll be alright." Kenshin knew that Akai wouldn't believe him. It was written all over his friend's face. Over the years that they had been friends, it felt as though Akai had understood him more than he had understood himself. There was something unusual about Akai now that he had thought about it. Like the times that Akai was more like a girl rather than a guy. _'Don't think up stupid thoughts.' _Kenshin snapped at himself.

- - - -

"No lessons today… what bliss." Misao hummed to herself. She had also gained permission from Okina-sensei to have a day off since she had been working hard as a student. She had given everyone an excuse saying that she, as Taka, was going to have a walk around and help out the town. In truth, this was an opportunity for her to just be a girl for a whole day again and visit Tsubame and other girls.

She smiled as she recalled the wonderful evening that she had. "Which reminds me…" She pulled out an envelope which 'Akira' written neatly on it. "I should give this to him and get it done with. Now… I think he usually hangs around here somewhere…" Misao then sprinted towards the boy dormitories. She leapt up onto the verandah and knocked on the shouji door.

"Who's there?"

"I've got a message for you! It's from Tomoe Yukishiro!" Misao replied, she was nearly scared off the verandah when the door slammed open. Akira's eyes bright and his face beaming from happiness.

"Really?" He asked her.

"Yeah…" Misao handed him the note. "She seemed to be in a hurry last night when I met her." Akira took the note with gratitude.

"Thanks heaps!"

"No problem. I better get going." Misao waved and hurried off. _'Now where should I go?' _It was the start of Spring after all, a happy time for her. It was her special day. However, it was a shame that Kaoru had to go to her lessons. _'The Sakura track sounds like a good place.' _

She skipped and hummed her usual tunes. Her heart jumping for joy. She knew that tonight she and Kaoru were going to have their traditional celebration in her room. It was going to be loads of fun. Tsubame, Aya and Megumi would be there as well. "It's such a beautiful day… I'm so lucky." She skid to a halt as soon as she was surrounded by several Sakura trees. The pink blossoms forming clouds smothering the skies. "Wow… so beautiful."

A stray blossom floated downwards. Misao opened a palm and watched it land delicately on her hand. "I love Spring."

"Who wouldn't?" Aoshi asked as he stood from his sitting position.

"Ah! Aoshi! What are you doing here?" Misao felt the colour rise to her cheeks. Had he heard her say all those little things earlier? How embarrassing. What's worse was that it felt even weirder since she was wearing a yukata that was shorter than a normal one.

"I came to give you this." He held out the item towards her. The cloth that wrapped around the lunch box but inside was filled with snacks and sweets rather than a normal lunch. "Today is your special day."

Misao could hear a pounding thumping noise in her ears. Her blood had heated above 37 degrees Celsius. Heart pounding, threatening to bash its way out of her chest. "Um… you… remembered." She stifled her smile a bit to save face from looking like a goofball. She accepted his gift. "Thank you very much Aoshi! It really means a lot to me!"

"It means a lot to me as well."

"Huh?" Misao looked at Aoshi with surprised eyes. There was a short welcomed silence before Aoshi said that he had to go to his lessons. Misao waved him goodbye before settling under the Sakura trees to watch the wonders of the Sakura trees. It definitely was a beautiful day. _'But what does he mean by that?' _

_- - - - _

**AN: **The end! Not. Just kidding. Ahahaha… Another chapter over. Can anyone guess what Aoshi had meant? Hm…

Thank you everyone for your support! I really appreciate it! And thank you all for your patience too.

Until next time I update!

Cherry Chibi.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Disclaimer: **I no own Rurouni Kenshin…

**AN: **I think that I will say this in advance, thank you everyone for being so wonderful and supporting me through the fic so far! I've just recovered from writer's block and had just returned from a field trip, so sorry for the long, long, long wait! (Don't kill me…)

Hidden in Study – Chapter 13 – By Cherry Chibi

_ "It means a lot to me as well."_

_ "Huh?" Misao looked at Aoshi with surprised eyes. There was a short welcomed silence before Aoshi said that he had to go to his lessons. Misao waved him goodbye before settling under the Sakura trees to watch the wonders of the Sakura trees. It definitely was a beautiful day. 'But what does he mean by that?' _

- - - -

Aoshi was seated in class dazing off a little. However, his absence of mind wasn't noticed by the other students. No one could really read what goes through his head anyway. As they called him, he really sometimes was an 'Icy Guy'. Why he was dazing off today? It really didn't sound like much of a big deal but the start of spring was the day when he came to the school… It was his first peaceful and happy moment after the string of tragic events.

 "Psst… Aoshi!" Sanosuke nudged him hard shaking his core back to reality. "Sekihara-sensei just asked you a question!" Other students were whispering quietly, surprised that Aoshi had for the first time ever, daydreamed…

 "Aoshi…" It looked as if Tae was also stunned by her student's behaviour, "Are you feeling well today?" Usually, he was one of her top students. Always well behaved and did his work. Being one of the senior teachers of the school, she did know what really was going through his head. Holding an inward sigh she said gently, "Aoshi, I believe that you should be dismissed. However, make sure that you catch up with today's work later in the afternoon and finish it by tomorrow. Is that understood?" Her warm brown eyes locked with Aoshi's cold blue.

 "Yes, Sekihara-sensei." Aoshi replied as he stood from his seat. Quickly gathering his things before leaving the classroom. _'What is the matter with me today? The start of spring never really was a big deal for me…' _Today his head was like a cloud floating in the sky. It couldn't stay in one position in the sky. It just kept floating and moving. He couldn't help it either.

After strolling for a while, he somehow came across the girl's room.

 "Do you really think you can do that Tsubame?" A voice that sounded like Megumi's asked, "We can really get things going if you can somehow lead Misao away for awhile."

Aoshi's curiosity took the better of him and he listened for a bit.

 "Um… but… what if… Misao realizes what's going on?" Tsubame's shy and quiet voice asked.

_ 'What are these girls up to now?' _Aoshi thought. Were they planning something for Misao's celebration? It might as well be. Girls were always into those sorts of little strange things. They would celebrate something whenever they get the chance to. No matter how miniscule the event may be – they would celebrate. Seeing that he really shouldn't be eavesdropping, he continued his way towards the library.

- - - -

Kenshin gripped the ink brush tighter to the point where his knuckles were pure white and the wood of the ink brush was beginning to show signs of forming sharp wrinkles. _'Shut… up…' _Battousai's voice was still annoying the hell out of him. He knew that Battousai was another part of him which wanted to take over. He didn't want that to happen. **'You can't handle the facts can you?' **Came the question, **'You can't even look at _her._' **

 '_Get lost.' _Kenshin said harshly back. _'I don't want to hear anymore from you.' _

Kaoru, who was seated next to Kenshin, noticed that one of the splintered edges had pierced into his skin and was drawing blood. "Kenshin…" She said quietly, "You alright?" She was beginning to get more worried, she knew that Battousai was linked to how Kenshin was acting nowadays. He had been tense and somewhat… scared of something.

After a few moments of no reply, Kenshin finally stopped and smiled at her in a way that made her feel more frightened than reassured. "I'm alright Akai." He replied, "I guess that some of these characters are just frustrating to write. That's all." After that, he continued to work. Kaoru kept watching though, she didn't believe a word that he had told her.

From that moment until the end of the lesson, Kaoru eyes kept wandering over to Kenshin. A questioning look lingering in them. As they were being dismissed, Kaoru walked alongside Kenshin quietly. When they were heading back towards their dorm room where they were able to speak privately. "Kenshin, if there is a problem, you can really tell me. I'll listen." Kaoru said, her tone filled with worry.

 "I appreciate your concern but it's nothing really." Kenshin replied as he dropped his stack of books and scrolls onto the table. "You won't understand." After that, he opened the closet and took out his sword, "Seijuro-sensei wants to train me more these days. So I won't be able to have as much free time. I better hurry or else it is a 1000 slashes each minute I'm late. See you."

 "Yeah…" Kaoru watched his retreating back before turning back to his pile of work that he had left on the table. There was a cold feeling within her that sent shivers in her spine. An instinct that told her that she would have to be careful, very careful. Slowly, hesitantly, she reached for one of Kenshin's scrolls and unwound it. Her eyes widened and her hands almost shook from fear. "Kenshin… what's the matter….?" The words were barely audible as they passed her lips.

- - - -

 "Yo."

Aoshi's attention was caught by the not-too-formal greeting. He looked up from his book and met eyes with Sanosuke. "What is it?" It was just like Sanosuke to come and disturb him during times when he wanted to just have a quiet read to get his head of things. The Rooster-head pulled up a seat from the next table and dragged it across the floor. Roughly and lazily taking a seat near Aoshi.

 "Why are you always reading? How boring." Sanosuke said, "Let's go and train for a bit." His tone was near child-ish. Somehow it made Aoshi's brow twitch upwards a little. "Don't you think that you need to train a bit more? I think your skills are getting a little out of date." He has got to be kidding, was what Aoshi thought at that moment. The last time they sparred was just a couple of nights ago – Aoshi came out clearly as the victor. So why was Sanosuke even bothering to continue his challenge? Maybe he was just a sore loser.

 "Don't you have better things to do?" Aoshi asked dully. He finished the last sentence of the page before flipping it over to the next.

 "Come on man… get a life!" Sanosuke said, "My next vocation is to get a certain book worm out into open air." He leaned forward in his seat, "And you know how persistent I can be…"

 "Yeah, as persistent as cat trying to take a bath." Aoshi replied.

Sanosuke snorted. "Well, whatever. You're coming, even if I have to take you out by force." At that moment, Sanosuke aimed to grab Aoshi's collar but failed as Aoshi dodged him easily and was soon out of his seat. "Alright! So you're going to come with me to spar?"

 "One round." Aoshi concluded, "If I win, you will have to stop bothering me."

 "I'm game." Sanosuke said as he raised a fist, "And if I win, you're going to have to do as I say."

- - - -

Megumi knocked on Kaoru's doorframe. "May I?" She said as she slid open the door only to find Kaoru seated at the desk with a pale complexion. "What's the matter?" No reply. She entered the room and approached Kaoru slowly. "Kaoru?"

 "What… what is happening to Kenshin?" Kaoru asked quietly. Her eyes were glued to the scrolls. Megumi looked over Kaoru's shoulder and read the strange sentences that were varying in styles of writing. There were two different styles.

**_ 'You are born by the sword and therefore you will die by the sword. It has always been that way in your family.' _**

_ 'I won't listen to you…'_

**_ 'You can't escape your past… and so can't she…'_**

_ 'Shut… up…'_

**_ 'You can't handle the facts can you? You can't even look at her.'_**

 "What is this?" Megumi asked as she placed a hand on Kaoru's shoulder. "Did Kenshin write this?" Soon after, Kaoru stood from her seat and ran out. "Kaoru!" She picked up pace and tried to catch up to Kaoru. "Wait!"

 "Leave me alone!" Kaoru screamed back, "Just leave me alone!"

 "Kaoru!" After turning a sharp corner, Megumi lost track of Kaoru. She couldn't keep up with her.

- - - -

Kenshin circled his master. _'If I can beat Seijuro-sensei, then I will be able to throw away my sword.' _His feet whispered over the floor boards. Sweaty palms gripped around the hilt of his sword.

 "You're taking too long Baka-deshi." Hiko said, he showed no signs of concern about losing. He knew that he would win without a doubt. His foolish student was still too young, and hasn't even mastered all the techniques yet. He didn't even know what was going through that boy's head. Why would Kenshin want to try to fight him for?

 "KYAH!" Kenshin quickly advanced forward, his sword clashed with Hiko's. It was a quick and efficient attack but no good enough to knock any wind out of his master. Next thing he knew, he was flat on the ground, feeling his cheek throb from impact.

 "That's enough." Hiko said coolly, "This is pointless."

 "No…" Kenshin slowly pushed himself off the wooden floor with his hands. _'I can't lose…' _He assumed fighting stance again and his eyes narrowed in full concentration. _'I have to win.' _Soon after, he charged forward again, his sword clashing with Hiko's and this time, instead of going straight through with the attack, he changed direction and added a second attack but this time using his sheath – catching Hiko off guard for the slightest second.

Just as victory was about to be sealed with the impact, a call ended it all. "Kenshin! There's something wrong with Akai!" Megumi was at the dojo doorway. Behind her stood Tsubame. "He just took off!"

 "What?!" Kenshin landed and spun around to look at Megumi.

 "He was looking at your scrolls… and he looked pretty upset…" Megumi said, "Do you know where he could've went?"

** 'Kaoru…'**

- - - -

Punches and kicks were thrown with precision, each one with the potential to bite like a python. Sanosuke dodged Aoshi's attacks purposefully and Aoshi dodged his in defence. '_Fox-girl told me to hold Aoshi off for awhile… I wonder what it is all about…' _Sanosuke thought. His fist knuckled right into Aoshi's and they were locked into their punches for a few moments, "Che, you're pretty strong." Sanosuke said.

 "You already know that," Aoshi then swung around a surprise kick. Knocking out Sanosuke's legs from beneath him. Just before he landed on the ground, Aoshi grabbed a handful of Sanosuke's shirt. "Alright, enough games, what are you up to? You would usually give the fights your all. Today you're holding back."

 "I like to try out another strategy." Sanosuke said as he quickly scrambled out of Aoshi's grasp and then darted for a straight forward attack. "Psyche!" Aoshi quickly dodged and slammed his fist into Sanosuke's back. This time, he didn't stop Sanosuke's fall into the ground.

 "You don't by any chance happen to be scheming something?" Aoshi questioned. He was getting suspicious of what was going on.

- - - -

 "Seijuro-san," A man greeted his co-worker. "The police have just handed to us another letter. Possible concerning the Kamiya family." He handed the dirt stained envelope to Hiko. "How have the kids been coping?" The man had his hair tied back into a tight high bun. His piercing brown eyes showed that he was one who had knowledge of what was going on.

Hiko opened the letter and read its contents before dropping it on his desk. "Katsura, as we know, there are some things that would never change." He heard a sigh coming from his fellow worker.

 "They're not safe are they?"

- - - -

She stopped at the town's entrance and looked around. In her hand was a scrappy looking note. She raised an eyebrow and scanned the area. "What is going on?" Misao asked. On the note it was specified that Tsubame would be waiting for her because there was something that she wanted to show. '_How strange…' _Tsubame wasn't the kind of girl who would play tricks so something must have happened. _'Maybe this isn't Tsubame's note…' _

Sighing and feeling frustrated, she turned back. However, there was a rustling in the bushes beside her that caused her to feel alarmed. _'Someone's watching me…' _Without wasting time, she sprinted. She didn't get very far though – next thing she knew, a large pair of hands grabbed her wrists and covered her eyes.

 "ARGH! SOMEONE HELP!"

- - - -

**AN: **The end of chapter thirteen.Alright, I know that you all would probably want to strangle me now. I've left… about four cliffies each in their own scenes… hahaha… I'm so evil. Hey! A girl's gotta have her fun some time!

Hm… if I get more ideas soon… I'll probably update sooner! Let's all pray that would happen eh? Alright, until next time!

Cherry Chibi


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Disclaimer: **I no own Rurouni Kenshin…

**AN: **Hello everyone! Sorry for the long wait (yet again....) For those who asked, this fic is so far a Battousai/Kaoru fic… I'm thinking that once their schooling days are over, there'll be a sequel with a Kenshin/Kaoru coupling. But that idea I'm still unsure of. Originally it was a B/K/K and then after that I kinda went off track…

This chapter is short, I know… but I'm doing my best to get back into writing. Having all your work deleted does throw you off (check my bio for a little more detail).

Hidden in Study – Chapter 14 – By Cherry Chibi

_"He was looking at your scrolls… and he looked pretty upset…" Megumi said, "Do you know where he could've went?" _

****

**_'Kaoru…'_**

_-_

_"You don't by any chance happen to be scheming something?" Aoshi questioned. He was getting suspicious of what was going on._

-

_"They're not safe are they?" _

-

_"ARGH!__ SOMEONE HELP!" _

- - - -

Battousai ran as fast as he could to try and find Kaoru. When Megumi had arrived at the hall asking about Kaoru, he immediately took off – leaving behind the two dumbfounded girls as well as his awestruck master. **'Kaoru saw the scrolls…'** He cursed at himself – well, more towards Kenshin, **'You idiot! How could you be so reckless as to leave them in plain view?!'**

_'Kaoru?__ Who are you talking about?'_ Kenshin's voice questioned.

Battousai gritted his teeth. For a moment he had forgotten that Kenshin didn't know about Akai's true identity. It was getting stressful. **'Listen, and listen good…'**

- - - -

Aya walked alongside with her older brother, Saitoh silently. Her arms crossed and she felt the shudders. She tucked her black hair behind her ear and coughed a couple of times. "Are you sure you saw her here?" Saitoh questioned her as they walked.

Aya nodded, "Yeah…" Her dark blue eyes stared around the scenery with great concern. "I heard Misao yell too… I would've jumped in to help her but… there were too many of them for me to handle… I'm such an idiot…" A sudden gesture silenced her.

"Don't say you're an idiot because you're not." Saitoh said, "Jumping in straight away wouldn't have done any good." By the look on his face, Aya knew that he too was concerned about Misao's well-being. She was so scared when she had heard the screams, it was strange though – it seemed to happen so quickly, as if it had been planned all along. The two continued walking silently and eventually, it seemed as though it would be hopeless to keep searching the area…

That was until Aya noticed a scrunched piece of paper. Bending over and picking it up, she examined it. "A note from Tsubame to Taka?"

"Who's Misao?" Saitoh questioned as he read the note also. Aya wanted to hit her head against the wall. She had forgotten that many of the others still don't know about the true Taka and Akai. She glanced up to Saitoh and he gave a nod, telling her that he had figured it out and to continue on. _'Doesn't he ever show surprise anymore?' _She thought curiously to herself. Shrugging it off, she lowered her gaze at the writing. They read it in silence, both engrossed into the words and every single inch of the paper.

_Misao_

_Come see me at the village's edge. I have something really important to tell you. It's a secret. Don't tell anyone._

_Tsubame_

"What should we do now?" Aya asked her older brother in a weak voice. It felt like ice had frozen every single moment in time. Nothing seemed to be moving forward or back. It was still.

"We have to tell the teachers." Saitoh replied as he took the note from Aya's hands. "It's obvious that whoever took Misao would have been watching us for quite some time since they know Tsubame is a close friend of Misao's."

Tsubame managed a meek smile, "You know, you make quite a good detective." Saitoh raised an eyebrow at her and she immediately cleared her throat as a distraction.

- - - -

_'You're joking. You've got to be joking.' _Kenshin's tone sounded in disbelief. _'Akai is NOT a girl. I can't have been living with a _she _for all this time…' _

Battousai narrowed his eyes, furious at how dense his other half was. **'Believe it. Right now, I don't give a damn what you feel. We have to find out where she is or else _they _might get to her first.' **Over time, Battousai had sensed danger around and he was aware that the past was coming back to haunt them. He was getting extremely mad about the fact that Kenshin didn't have the brains to even sense them and he was getting sick and tired of Kenshin's _selfish _thoughts.

While in his fury, he clashed with two familiar people. Stopping, he stared at them with a questioning look. "Kenshin? Why are you in such a rush?" Soujiro asked with a laugh. "It's not like you're going to die if you don't hurry…"

"_I _won't die but I know someone else who might." Battousai snapped back unintentionally crude. Without waiting for any reply, he brushed passed them and sprinted as fast as he could towards the first place that came to mind.

- - - -

Kaoru had to stop to catch her breath. She had lost track of how long she had been running for and was now trying to collect her thoughts together so that she could figure out the reason why she felt so upset after seeing those scrolls. If she was someone else, she would've simply said that it was _weird. _But why couldn't she think just that? Maybe it was some sort of joke.

_'But whatever is happening isn't a joke…'_ Kaoru thought to herself. _'Whatever is going through Kenshin's brain is…'_ She knew and understood. Battousai and Kenshin are like clashing personalities within one body. If they keep clashing then eventually one will over power the other. Kaoru had thought about it before.

For a while, she had never even questioned whether having Battousai and Kenshin exist in one body was a good thing or a bad thing. So she concluded that the reason why she got upset from seeing the scrolls was that they reminded her clearly – one day one of them shall vanish.

Letting out a sigh she looked around at the scenery. Her heart started to pick up pace again. _'I'm an idiot for running around blindly…'_ There was only one word that she could use to describe it…

Unfamiliar.

- - - -

Aoshi had managed to torture the information out of Sanosuke. "I see." He said simply after the last word breathed through the Rooster-head's lips. He turned his back on his friend and headed towards the direction towards where he would hopefully find Megumi. There were a few things he would like to explain to that fox.

- - - -

It was dark. So dark. She couldn't tell where she was with the blindfold screening over her eyes. Misao's fingertips managed to scratch the surface of the earth that lay still underneath her. She had tried her best. Flailing her arms and legs as well as biting the hands that grabbed her. She had attempted to escape only to be beaten and thrown back to her spot.

Who were her kidnappers? Why did they want her? She didn't know the answers so she decided to stay safe and remain where she was. Hopefully someone will come for her. Hopefully someone will come for her safety. She hoped and she prayed for it.

- - - -


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**Disclaimer: **Well, what can I say? I don't own Rurouni Kenshin or any creations from it. Now let's go and see our RK kiddies in action....

**AN: **I did say that this was supposed to be a 'cheerful' fic. My apologies for making it darken for the past couple of chapters... I hope another update as well as some (hopefully) humour would make it all up for you guys and gals out there. /smiles/ Enjoy! Thank you all very much for your support! You're all an inspiration! And best wishes to all for the new year!

Hidden in Study - Chapter 15 - By Cherry Chibi

- - - - Previously - - - -

_It was dark. So dark. She couldn't tell where she was with the blindfold screening over her eyes. Misao's fingertips managed to scratch the surface of the earth that lay still underneath her. She had tried her best. Flailing her arms and legs as well as biting the hands that grabbed her. She had attempted to escape only to be beaten and thrown back to her spot. _

_Who were her kidnappers? Why did they want her? She didn't know the answers so she decided to stay safe and remain where she was. Hopefully someone will come for her. Hopefully someone will come for her safety. She hoped and she prayed for it. _

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

She was on unfamiliar ground. This really wasn't what she needed right now, it was like completing another step in making her grave. _'Um... maybe... I came from that direction...' _Kaoru headed straight for a tall and very old looking tree that looked like it marked the corner of a mulch covered path. As soon as she got there, she stopped and looked around desperately. From fear and frustration, she could feel the tears coming up. _'Oh please... just let someone find me... anybody...' _

She couldn't have run away so far from the school right? She couldn't have gone so far to a point where no one would walk by because there was a path along here. Kaoru closed her eyes and tried to compose herself. "Alright," She said out loud, "I know that I'm feeling... scared... and... really scared... but I have to think. I have to be smart..."

"You seem lost... need any of my help?" A young female voice said from behind.

Hope exploded and Kaoru almost jumped. "Really?! Thank you so much!" She looked at the other girl with a slight amusement. _'What's up with the rags...?' _Kaoru thought to herself as she examined the girl. Well, her 'saviour' wasn't exactly wearing rags but it looked it. There were white bandaged wrapped tightly around the wrists, ankles and forehead... the edges of the clothes looked stained from dirt and worn out. Besides the clothing and bandages, Kaoru could see that she had very clear eyes and brown hair. She looked about Kaoru's age, or else slightly younger.

The girl felt Kaoru's examination rather nerve racking and tried to ward off the embarrassing feeling by forcing a cough and turning her face away. "My name's..."

"SHUURA!!! GET YOUR LAZY SELF RIGHT HERE NOW!!!!" The sudden roar caused the girl to shriek. Her eyes looked as if they had suddenly bulged out of her skull. "SHUURA!"

"I'm coming!" Shuura coughed out her reply. It looked as though she really had a scare from hearing the male voice. Turning immediately to Kaoru and said, "Quickly, hide." After a moment of making sure that Kaoru hid safely behind a few thick bushes, she rushed off towards the direction of the voice.

"SHUURA!"

"I said I'm coming!"

_'What's that about?' _Kaoru thought to herself. The shouts were relentless and it caught Kaoru's curiosity. _'Maybe I should... follow.' _

- - - -

The girls held a private meeting in Tsubame's room. Their whispers bounced off the walls and reflected upon their worried faces. Megumi, Aya and Tsubame were seated in a small triangle. Aya had to return home after her older brother gave her the narrow 'evil' eye. _'Sheesh... every time he gives me that look, it gives me the chills.' _She thought while rolling her shoulders back a little. "I can't believe what a mess has been made..."

"I second you on that." Megumi added to Aya's remark. Tsubame simply nodded. "There is a list of problems that we have to worry about. First, Misao has been kidnapped and Kaoru is no where to be found. Second, there is a risk that those two would have their identities exposed among the guys..." She scowled with the pain of having to do some more problem solving.

"There are still years to go before school finishes... so we can't let people find out about them." Tsubame said quietly, "I don't want them to be forced to leave either..."

"But Saitoh already knows about Misao... I trust that he won't tell anyone." Aya said confidently. "We can probably tell him about Kaoru."

An uncomfortable silence settled among them. It was beyond their control on what actions were to be taken... they had to be careful about what they would do or else it could make things worse. Eventually, Aya couldn't take her helplessness anymore.

"Fine, let's make a plan." She said calmly, "We have to find a way to locate Misao and Kaoru. They can't have possibly gone too far. Whoever would have kidnapped Misao couldn't have gone through town because that would cause too much of an attraction... Kaoru ran right? She couldn't have gone too far either..."

Tsubame thought for a moment. "I didn't see any carriage tracks or horse hoof prints..."

"We can't locate them alone. Let's face it. Among us three, Aya is the only one who has the physical capabilities of doing ground searches quickly. We're going to have to tell the guys." Megumi believed that her friends wouldn't do something that would betray them. "Kenshin, Aoshi, Saitoh, Sanosuke, Soujiro..." She listed them, "I trust those guys." The look in her eyes made Tsubame and Aya nod in agreement.

"Alright, we'll tell them." Tsubame said.

Without warning, the door slammed open and in came a fairly cold looking Aoshi and a babbling Rooster-head. "Hey, calm down man!" Sano was following Aoshi closely. He looked a bit alarmed, just as he took another step; he hid his bruised arm against the doorpost, "Ouch! Jeez... you didn't have to go that far in the torture..." Sano mumbled.

"Don't you knock?!" Megumi fumed at the two guys.

"Talk about timing..." Aya said quietly to Tsubame.

"What are you exactly planning Megumi?" Aoshi questioned, "I don't find it funny sending the Rooster-head as a decoy to distract me from..." Aoshi was cut off by another interruption.

"Aoshi! There you are!" Soujiro entered the room with a smile bright as ever. "A message from Saitoh, Taka has been kidnapped and they have located a track that was supposed to be hidden. He needs your help in..." He voice trailed off and looked around the room. "Did I catch you at a bad time?"

Aoshi and Sanosuke just stared at Soujiro as if he was joking. This was the first that they had heard of anything thus far. "What did you say?!" Sanosuke finally reacted, "Kidnapped?!"

"Continue explaining." Aoshi added.

Soujiro let out a nervous laugh. "Sure is tense here. Okay, well, since you have a better suited style in sneaking around, Saitoh wants you to help. Not only is that going on but it seems that Kenshin has ran off somewhere too... seems like he's desperate in finding someone."

"Where's Saitoh?" Aoshi asked oddly in haste.

"Down at the front gates." Soujiro responded. He wasn't even given any extra time to explain further before Aoshi was out of there. "He's fast."

"You can say that again." The others echoed in response.

Sanosuke then remembered Soujiro mentioning Kenshin and then asked, "So what's this I hear about Kenshin?"

- - - -

Kaoru was carefully climbing up a tree as she kept her eyes on her targets. Shuura had finally stopped. To her surprise, there was a dieing campfire... scraps of leftover food and... _'What on earth?! Misao?!!!!!!!!!' _Her best friend looked a mess. She was gagged, tied up and blindfolded... From simple curiosity, anger raged up and down her throat. _'What is the meaning of this? Who the hell are these people?! Misao! Oh Misao, what did they do to you?!' _

Who cares if she was lost now? Who cares about her personal problems? It felt as though all her issues flew out the window after she realised that her friend was in trouble. Top priority - save her best friend and punish the evil-doers.

"Shuura! What was taking you so long?!" A grumpy and very rough looking man appeared before Shuura. Unexpectedly, he looked like a foreigner to Kaoru. "Hurry up and add more firewood! The Capt'n ain't coming until tomorrow!"

"Sorry, yes... I'll hurry." Shuura kept her head low as she scavenged for the pieces of dried wood to add to the campfire. The bright orange flames eventually crawled onto the pieces of wood and breathed out streams of black smoke.

_'Hm... Rough but not exactly bright.' _Kaoru commented on the man. _'I wonder how many of them are there. And why is Shuura with them?' _It looks as though she would have to wait a bit longer before she would be able to do anything.

Timing seemed to be on her side at that moment. Two other men appeared, looking fairly similar to the initial guy. "Hey, when can we get rid of this brat?" One of them asked as he let out a snort and spat a ball of gunk onto the dirt ground.

"I told you already, we hafta wait for Capt'n."

_'That foreigner needs to get a life.' _Kaoru thought as she observed with distaste. _'Better save Misao soon... I'm sure that I'd hate to be in her position.' _So there were three guys that she was up against. There was the possibility that she would be up against Shuura too... which she hoped won't happen. _'Ehehehe... now, I'll make sure these guys will regret for what they have done.'_

"When do we get to snatch the other girl?" The second grumbled.

_'Wha?' _That caught Kaoru's attention.

"Cap'n said that we would do it as soon as we can. But we have to wait until things settle a bit before we can start... I can't wait to get this over with. It serves the Kamiya Family right for taking the land."

_'Huh? Hold it right there buster...'_

"Yeah and for the money we've lost, I'm sure that Capt'n has something good in store for their kids."

_'Alright, I take back what I said earlier.' _Kaoru thought while fuming. _'I'll make sure that these guys will regret for even messing with the Kamiya Family.'_

- - - -

He was sure that Kaoru would take this direction. Battousai was carefully considering all the paths that she might take. **'Damn it, how can I find her in such a complicated place?!' **For awhile, Kenshin had been silent. This was indeed what he needed. Having a second doubtful voice inside your head was no fun when you're trying to find a girl who had stormed off with a head filled with all sorts of thoughts. '**Kaoru, you better not have gone too far.'**

Just as he was on his way, he bumped into unexpected people.

"What's up with that face Kenshin?" Sanosuke said with a grin. He turned over to Soujiro who cheerfully added on.

"Looks like you'll need some help."

"I don't need your help." Battousai said that was near a threat. He was really in a need to get moving. Who knows what could be happening to Kaoru within this timeframe? Maybe those guys have gotten to her already.

Sanosuke gave a warning look, "I'm afraid that you haven't got a choice. We _know _where Akai might be." He then pointed towards an old looking tree that wasn't too far away. "Check that out. Looks like someone has been around there. The bushes have been put slightly out of their natural shape too... you can even see the snapped branches. Oh yeah... and you can also see..."

"I get the point." Battousai said impatiently. "We have to find _Akai _quickly."

- - - -

"Those kidnappers should be along this path..." Saitoh said quietly as he and Aoshi followed a path which had been made recently. The beaten down grass was a dead giveaway.

Aoshi was driven by something he couldn't really understand. It was like a fear shaking his insides that made him get moving. He feared for the safety of his friend and more... _'The culprits will pay.' _In a short moment, Aoshi took notice of the sky. It was gradually darkening, a sign that told him that night was coming soon and that meant they would have to hurry or else they'd have no light to show them the way.

- - - -

Kaoru snuck into a tree hollow and waited for Shuura. Initially, Shuura had been the one who told her to hide so it would only be natural for the girl to want to go back and check up. So she waited in a hiding spot where she knew Shuura would cross. Footsteps were heard and at the sight of the girl, Kaoru tugged her clothes and pulled her back.

Shuura gasped in shock of having something pull her so suddenly. When she realised who it was, she relaxed. "Sorry for keeping you waiting."

"Don't worry. What I want to know is what are you doing here?" Kaoru asked quietly. Her voice was a definite, commanding voice rather than a sweet, questioning one. It made Shuura feel uneasy.

"I can't tell you..."

"You'll have to tell me." Kaoru said, "Because that girl you kidnapped... happens to be my best friend." She narrowed her eyes to emphasize her point. After a moment of silent warring between their locked eye contact, Shuura gave in reluctantly.

"I don't mean to be part of it. It's just that before I was living in a village with my father... it's sort of similar to your situation except in the end... I..." She gestured to herself and that seemed to have explained the rest of the answer. "You have to be careful with them..."

Kaoru made sure that no one else was around. "How about a deal? You help me save my friend and I'll help you get away from them." She made it sound so simple that Shuura almost wanted to agree straight away. But then doubt came...

"It's not as easy as that... if you do that then the Captain will be mad and he will send others..." Shuura seemed to really be worried.

"But the next time he comes we'll be ready and he won't be able to lay a finger on you or anyone." Kaoru reassured. "Come on, what do you say?" She only needed a quick reply, a simple one would do. When Shuura finally nodded her head, Kaoru smiled. "Great. Here's the plan..."

- - - -

_'Someone come...' _Misao thought to herself. She was sore, hungry and there were a mixture of feelings within her. It was sickening really. She wanted to be back at the dorm where she could be comfortable and warm. There was nothing that she could do besides sit, wait and hope as well as listen to the conversations that went on. _'Please... anyone...' _

"She's here sir! She's here!" A familiar stranger girl came rushing towards the campsite. Her voice was sounding very serious and fairly excited.

"Who's here?" A grouchy voice questioned. He sounded impatient and ready to strike at the girl. There was a chewing sound heard. Was he eating something?

"She's here! The other girl we're supposed to snatch! I saw her alone on the path just back there!" Again it was that girl. They were talking about Kaoru. Misao knew it. It was then she worried about her friend.

_'Don't get caught, please don't get caught...' _Misao felt her muscles tensed when the three men who had been seated around the campfire got up excited. They sounded pleased with the news.

- - - -

"Smoke... do you smell it?" Saitoh questioned Aoshi. His nose was sensitive to many different smells. Fire smoke being on the list. "They must be close." The two continued trekking along the path in predatory silence.

- - - -

"Shut up you brat, do you want to scare off our target?" The grouchy man pushed Shuura abruptly behind as he and the other two went ahead. "Watch the camp." He commanded brutally. Shuura kept her silence as she hurried back to the campsite. In her pocket, was a small sharp kunai that Kaoru had given her.

Soon a tied up girl came to view. Shuura settled beside her. Misao tensed and curled up into a smaller ball. "Shh... keep quiet okay? I'm going to help free you." Shuura said quickly but as clearly as possible. After hearing her sentence, Misao relaxed and her face was turned towards Shuura's direction. First, the blindfold was removed and then the cloth that gagged Misao.

"Thank you." Misao said with a grateful smile. "Thank you so much..." Tears were coming from relief.

"It's not over yet. Stay still while I cut the ropes."

- - - -

Trusting a firm tree branch to be her weapon, she prepared for attack. Night had fallen and hence she was given the advantage. _'I'm gonna kick their butts.' _Kaoru thought. She had climbed up a tree so that she could look out for the three thugs.

One came into view... and then another... and then another....

_'Got ya.' _She made a jump.

"Where...?" Before one of the thugs could finish his question, a branch landed on the crown of his head. "Oomf..." Kaoru took one down and stood face to face with the other two. A sinister grin on her face.

"Hello. I believe that you have my friend." Kaoru said sweetly.

"Bitch..." The main thug growled. "I'll kill you..." He took out a dagger and launched an attack at her. Kaoru cleanly dodged him and struck against his back... hard. Without waiting for any other responses, she struck the third man in the gut. The blows had been hard and took the thugs down for the time being. She would have loved to keep beating them down but she was more concerned about Misao and Shuura. The fact that it was getting darker by the minute gave her all the more reason to hurry and find them.

Holding onto her tree branch tightly, she ran towards the campsite. "Girls? Where are you?" She called.

"We're here." Misao came into view, she was standing beside Shuura with a really happy look on her face. There was a moment of silence before Misao exploded and threw her arms over Kaoru's shoulders. "Thank you so much! Thank you... I was so scared! Thank you so much..." Kaoru hugged Misao back.

"It's alright. We should head back to the dorm. Let's hurry." And thus, the girls made a run for it.

- - - -

The three thugs - or more rightly, stooges - got up from the ground after making their recovery from the sudden blows. Each angered by the thought of being beaten by a girl, even more frustrated thinking that they had been fooled by another girl and even more outraged knowing that they might have lost their captive.

"What are we waiting here for idiots?! Go after those brats!" The main guy roared. After groaning and growling, they ran back the way they came except were forced to stop when they came face to face with a duo. "Get out of our way!"

"No." An amber eye boy looked directly back at them. Aggressiveness pulsing from his aura. He unsheathed a sword and pointed the blade at them. "I believe that you three have something to confess to."

"Yeah," A spiky haired boy held up his fists, ready for a fight. "Where are they?"

"I SAID GET OUT OF MY WAY!" One of them lost his patience and charged forward with a knife, he was pulled back after feel a blow at his chest and legs. Minor cuts appeared and he began to bleed. Shock coated his eyeballs. A third boy appeared and he wore a smile that sent shivers tingling in his toes.

"My, my... how rude." Soujiro held his blade ready.

"You have three seconds to tell us where they are." Battousai said calmly.

"Three... two..." Sanosuke started to count down.

"YOU BRATS ARE PISSING ME OFF!" The main thug roared. A bunch of kids weren't going to scare him so easily. For all he knew, they were probably bluffing.

"Get out of our way if you know what's good for you." The second added.

The bleeding thug narrowed his eyes, "You'll die for that."

"One. Time's up." Sanosuke grinned as he took the initial attack. Battousai and Soujiro also charged forward. They were going to have to torture the information out if they had to.

- - - -

Saitoh and Aoshi stopped in a middle of an unoccupied camping area. The fire was burning brightly. To one spot, Aoshi observed cut robes. Saitoh looked around and saw no sign of anyone. "No one?" It seemed strange.

"Unless they have taken Taka elsewhere..." Aoshi unsheathed his kodachi as a safety measurement. As the two took a few more steps into the area, a stench struck them. _'Can't be...' _He didn't want to think what could've happened to Misao. There was a sharp metallic scent of blood in the air.

Had they come too late?

"Hm..." Saitoh seemed angry. "If they left, this whole evening was a waste of time. Though I'd doubt they'd leave a campfire like this..."

There were grumblings that were approaching closer to them which brought Saitoh and Aoshi into alert mode. The smell of blood was becoming stronger. Aoshi narrowed his eyes. _'Damn it, why does it have to be so dark now?' _He made out three figures coming. _'The kidnappers?' _He managed to catch a few sentences...

"...Bury... body..."

"...relief..."

"I'm gonna have to clean... dagger..."

The three men froze and stared at Saitoh and Aoshi. They were lost for words. Too bad for them that Aoshi and Saitoh couldn't see what they looked like because it felt that Aoshi and Saitoh caught enough of their sentences to launch their own attack.

- - - -

Kaoru, Misao and Shuura arrived at the dorm. There was a feeling of safety sweeping over them as they walked through the gates. "It feels so nice to be on safe ground..." Misao said, unable to stop laughing. "I need a bath."

"Yeah... me too." Kaoru agreed. "Hey Shuura, what'd you think? You're finally out of those thugs' hands..." She only caught a smile from Shuura. As they walked silently towards the buildings, they were greeted by three others girls who looked as if they had been waiting at the steps for a while.

"Misao?! Kaoru?!" Megumi was on her feet instantly. A smile of surprise plastered on. "I can't believe it!"

"You're back! Thank goodness!" Tsubame managed to say.

"Alright! Where are the others?" Aya looked around in search for the guys.

Kaoru raised an eyebrow, "Others?"

"Yeah, the other guys went out to search for you two." Megumi replied.

The girls looked at each other in silence before sighing. "Guess they would have to come back disappointed..." Misao said and then she laughed. "But I'm so glad that they worried about us... though I hope that they would hopefully come back tonight..."

"And who is your new friend?" Aya looked over to Shuura who had been standing aside nervously.

"This is Shuura. She helped me save Misao." Kaoru said while smiling encouragingly at Shuura. "She's going to stay with us from now on."

- - - -

"Man... I can't believe we beat up those guys for nothing... who would've guessed that Akai would come along to save Taka..." Sanosuke was walking with his hands clasped behind his head. He looked across the Battousai who seemed a lot calmer than earlier. "Hey, you listening?"

"But you have to admit, it was a good work out." Soujiro said in attempt to lighten up the mood. "It's good practice to use your sword... only the blunt side though." He laughed lightly.

Sanosuke joined Soujiro and chuckled. "Oh yeah... I think I'd need to use the bath though. Those thugs make me feel disgusting. How about you Kenshin?"

"Hm... yeah." Battousai didn't feel like talking.

"Come to think of it, weren't Saitoh and Aoshi looking for those guys?" Soujiro said thoughtfully.

"Those two can take care of themselves, we should get home." Sanosuke said while waving a dismissive hand in the air. "I doubt that those thugs could get a third beating..."

- - - -

Before them lay a pile of bruised men. Aoshi and Saitoh walked away fairly irritated but relieved at the same time. _'At least it was a good way to let out anger...' _Aoshi thought to himself sarcastically. Who would've thought that Misao and Kaoru would have gotten away before they arrive? At least they were safe...

- - - -


	16. Chapter Sixteen

**Disclaimer: **Well, what can I say? I don't own Rurouni Kenshin or any creations from it. Now let's go and see our RK kiddies in action...

**AN: .**.. I know... that many of you would want to shoot me dead right now... hahaha... -nervous laugh- At least I got this next shortchapter up right? Hahahaha... hope you enjoy!

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Hidden in Study - Chapter 16 - By Cherry Chibi

- - - - - Previously - - - -

_Before them lay a pile of bruised men. Aoshi and Saitoh walked away fairly irritated but relieved at the same time. _'At least it was a good way to let out anger...' _Aoshi thought to himself sarcastically. Who would've thought that Misao and Kaoru would have gotten away before they arrive? At least they were safe..._

* * *

The next day was a rest day thankfully but it took a great deal of effort to clean up the mess that had been left behind from the earlier events. Shuura was welcomed without a problem by the kitchen ladies so now she helps Tsubame with the work. Misao and Kaoru had felt extra pressure since there were a number of questions being darted at them, in particular, from Aoshi and Kenshin. The two were seated on an empty patch of grass behind the wall of shrubbery eating a few rice cakes. Silence lingered and then the both of them sighed. 

"Ugh... what is wrong with Aoshi? He keeps staring at me! I don't know what he's thinking!" Misao started her complaining. "Ever since I came back, not a _word _has been spoken from that guy!"

"I can't even look at Kenshin in the eye without thinking of something crazy." Kaoru took a bite out of the rice cake in her hand. "We're room mates so it's so hard to avoid him."

"This sucks..."

"Uh-huh..."

Then the silence came again. Followed by sighs. Even though the two of them had gotten over the ordeal with the kidnappers, they still haven't solved their own personal issues with certain people. Kaoru's mind kept thinking to when she had found the really weird scrolls, when she starts thinking about the scrolls, she gets worried and when she gets worried, she wants to hit something. How was she supposed to face Kenshin? Correction, how was she going to face Kenshin **and **Battousai? Even though the situation appeared real easy to solve, her feelings just complicated everything.

Meanwhile, Misao was swimming in her own world wondering why Aoshi felt a little different from before. She the wondered why every time she thought about how he went out to try to help her, her stomach fluttered and she lost her appetite. What could have possibly happened? She just wanted things to be the way they were before. Lately all she has been getting are the weird stares.

"You, Misao, we can't continue on like this..." Kaoru said, "We're going to have to face it. Whatever our problems will be, we have to look at it straight in the eye and express our thoughts." Although Kaoru didn't know exactly what Misao's problem was, she felt that she had the gist of it so she was able to say something - which of course, applied to her as well.

Misao nodded, "I know... I just need a bit more time though. Just to get enough courage..." There was anxiousness in her words. Right at that moment, she felt that she had been exposed to the burning sun for the first time in her life. She couldn't run away forever... though in reality it had been less than two weeks. Misao being herself, and Kaoru being Kaoru, they liked to move on with things fast. That was probably one of the traits that they shared equally."Hey, Kaoru, what are you going to do aboutKenshin?"

Kaoru looked a bit unsure for a moment, "I'm... going to avoid him for a while."

Misao exploded, "What the hell! Just now you were telling me to face myproblems while you're personally still running away? What are you thinking!" She had jumped to her feet and waslooking rather confused at Kaoru. "Kaoru!"

"Hey! Your problem isn't as complicated as mine!" Kaoru jumped onto her feet also.

"Yes it is!"

"No it isn't!"

Silence again.Smiles creptonto their faces. Sitting here, hiding and worry wasn't going to get them anywhere. In fact, it was actually driving them insane. Kaoru then held out a hand to Misao, "Alright then, let's make a deal. We'll both work hard to get over this as long as the other does her best also." Misao took Kaoru's hand in her own.

"Yeah."

* * *

Being spring, the air was crisp with coolness and the cherry blossom petals fell like snow in the breeze. Aoshi was walking silently from one room to the next. He was feeling like a fool for doing so but he hadn't seen Misao all day which somehow made him feel uneasy. When he had gone to check on her, he did want to say words like, 'I'm glad you're safe' but they wouldn't come out. Each time he saw her, he'd try to will himself to speak but each time would fail and his mind would drift off as he realises each time of how much Misao was captivating him. With the thought of almost losing a friend, he had come to appreciate her a little more. Like when she smiles and is cheerful, he never realised how much he had treasured those times. 

Aoshi stopped as he realised something new. What if Misao was avoiding him? Why was he thinking this way? After a few moments of thinking, his hands clenched into fists, could it be that he was harvesting feelings towards her? No, he couldn't do that. He wasn't capable of such a thing. Taking a step back, he stared out to the serenity of the school's yard. Doubt was racing through his whole being. He had to prove himselfwrong. Somehow, he had to prove that what he was thinking of right now was wrong.

With this reasoning, he continued his searchfor Misao. This time with a little more determination than before.

* * *

_3, 2, 1... _Kenshin finished the drills for his training and sheathed his sword. Sweat beaded from his temples and slipped down the sides. Recently, the other him, Battousai, has been getting along with him. It felt almost as if they were beginning to go on the same track. Though there were times when his eyes would flicker amber signalling Battousai's resurfacing. One of the things that had been troubling him though, was that he hadn't been able to see Kaoru once. Well, he guessed that it was understandable considering that she probably thinks that he's a weird guy. If she didn't want to see him, then he'll let her have her space. Though, thinking about that hurt. 

"...shin..."

Being so caught up in his own web of thoughts, Kenshin hadn't heard his master's call... until something hit him hard on the head. "Oro!"

"Kenshin!" Hiko said with irritation. "I was asking you a question you idiot."

"Sorry Seijuro-sensei..." Kenshin apologised while trying to ignore the throbbing of the bump forming on his head. "What was it that you were asking?"

Hiko let out a sigh. He was finally able to get the attention of his pupil. "Have you seen Akai as of recent?" He asked again keeping a hook on his patience. "There is something which I have to speak with him, and with Taka too." Noticing the change in Kenshin's eyes, Hiko frowned slightly. It looked as though something was troubling the boy.

"I'll pass on your message." Kenshin said. He bowed, "Thank you for your efforts." Closing off the training session, Kenshin turned to leave. Now he had to talk with Kaoru. Maybe this could be a chance for him to also ask her a few things.

**"You fool." **Battousai's voice snapped at Kenshin, **"You should talk with her or else nothing will be solved. You're giving up too easily."**

_"If you think that dealing with this matter is as easy as that, why don't you do something then?" _Kenshin answered back to the voice. Oh... how wrong was he to do so.

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**AN:** Sorry for such a short chapter everyone. -sighs- Studies can be such a drag. Anyway, thanks for sticking with this foolish writer for so long! I'm really grateful for all of your kindness! -smiles- Thanks! Hope to update again sometime!


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